Ignatieff rubs some Liberals the wrong way

This is from the National Post.
Is someone trying to stir up even more troubles among the Liberals.?Maybe there is a closet Rae supporter at the National Post! However, it is plausible to think that Ignatieff may rub some people the wrong way. Rae has more experience than Ignatieff though in screwing up. The NDP is still trying to recover in Ontario. Maybe Rae can destroy whatever is left of the Liberals after Dion leaves.


Saturday, May 17, 2008
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Ignatieff rubs some Liberals wrong way
John Ivison, National Post Published: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Chris Wattie/Reuters
OTTAWA -There are whispers spreading in the Liberal caucus that Michael Ignatieff is the man who will never be king.
In the event that party leader Stephane Dion loses an election, there seems to be growing skepticism that Mr. Ignatieff should be the man to replace him -- even among MPs who supported him at the leadership convention in Montreal two years ago.
Gauging the extent of this backlash is difficult. A number of MPs declined to comment and those who did refused to speak on the record. But it seems to be more widespread than the usual bicker, brattle and back-stabbing common to all parties.
The apparent disenchantment with Mr. Ignatieff on the part of a number of MPs I spoke with, coincides with the arrival in the Liberal caucus of Bob Rae -- and it is perhaps no coincidence that the stock of the deputy leader is falling as that of the former Ontario premier is rising.
"It comes down to basic political judgment and understanding," said one MP. "With Rae you're dealing with someone who does know politics. There is a depth to him that allows him to interact more naturally with caucus [than Mr. Ignatieff]," he said.
Another factor is the impression that, while Mr. Rae is rolling up his sleeves for Team Dion, Mr. Ignatieff is more concerned with the next leadership contest.
A number of Liberals said they were less than impressed with a fundraising dinner for Mr. Ignatieff at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto last month, which was described as a barely veiled leadership campaign launch. "Lots of rank and file Liberals really found that a bridge too far. Its presentation was too ostentatious, too presuming," said one Grit, referring to clips that showed Mr. Ignatieff as a journalist interviewing Pierre Trudeau. Some felt this was intended to convey that Mr. Ignatieff is Mr. Trudeau's true heir.
If the party were to look for a successor to Mr. Dion, it is assumed Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Rae would be the front-runners. Some might imagine Mr. Ignatieff, who came second at the leadership convention, might even have the edge. But that mis-reads the situation. The reality is that Mr. Ignatieff was not the second-most popular candidate -- those who ended up with Mr. Dion would most likely have supported Mr. Rae if Mr. Dion had not made it to the final two. "Most people who supported Stephane would have supported Bob," one MP said.
The sympathy shared by the Rae and Dion camps is evident: Mr. Dion has surrounded himself with former members of the Rae camp, such as national director Greg Fergus, and private secretary Johanne Senecal. Even Mr. Ignatieff's supporters are worried that, if Mr. Dion is forced to step down, he will all but hand the baton to Mr. Rae.
Despite the precariousness of his position in the event of another leadership contest, a number of Liberal MPs and insiders say Mr. Ignatieff has not been working hard to build bridges and alliances internally.
"He doesn't come to meetings and he doesn't engage in the lobby," one Liberal said. "People are noticing he's not participating. He's a much more polarizing figure than Bob."
The different style of the two men is equally clear in Question Period,
where Mr. Ignatieff habitually scowls across the floor at the government as he rises each day after Mr. Dion's leadoff questions.
Mr. Rae's performance is more polished. Faced with a typically aggressive response by Conservative House leader Peter Van Loan yesterday, Mr. Rae responded artfully, declaring: "Mr. Speaker, I am absolutely devastated. I am wounded and devastated," before going on to ask how the Minister of Foreign Affairs managed to spend $22,000 on a flight to Laos.
One MP who supported Mr. Ignatieff said it's premature to talk of him losing support to Mr. Rae. "There is always a honeymoon period -- and Bob Rae is still in it. Most people are more focused on our current situation," he said. A senior figure in the still-active Ignatieff camp said he was surprised to hear murmurings of discontent about the Liberal deputy leader. He said Mr. Ignatieff is helping pay down Mr. Dion's leadership debts through events such as a fund-raiser in Montreal last week. "He's working hard doing a lot of fund-raisers for candidates at the leaders' request," he said. "My sense is that things are coming together." Even so, the impression remains that, while Mr. Ignatieff professes loyalty to Mr. Dion, he has trouble hiding his ambition. It may be that it has o'er leapt itself and his best chance to be king is already behind him.
jivison@nationalpost.com
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