This is from the Star.
The Liberal caucus is obviously more interested in blocking Rae, getting rid of Dion and crowning Ignatieff rather than wasting time with formalities such as democratic participation by the base. Harper must be happy. Ignatieff no doubt can be bought off by some minimal bailout scheme plus omission of a few reactionary policies that were in the economic update. Although there may be a few growls one can expect the Liberals to return to their earlier policy of saving the country for Conservatives.
Ignatieff zeroing in on Liberal leadership
Party fast-tracks bid to install him at helm as Dion's replacement
Dec 08, 2008 04:30 AM
Bruce Campion-Smith Ottawa Bureau Chief
OTTAWA–Michael Ignatieff could be crowned Liberal leader in a matter of days.
The Etobicoke-Lakeshore MP is expected to emerge the victor from a stripped-down leadership contest designed to get a new leader in place by the end of January for Parliament's return.
It now appears current leader Stéphane Dion will step aside and Ignatieff will be appointed "interim" leader of the Liberal party at Wednesday's caucus meeting. That's when MPs and senators, meeting behind closed doors, are expected to give their stamp of approval to the former academic.
"It's certainly looking that way," one Ignatieff supporter said last night.
There is also expectation that one of Ignatieff's rivals, New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc, will drop out of the race, perhaps as early as today.
However, supporters of Bob Rae (Toronto Centre), Ignatieff's major rival, are said to be divided about the next step and whether to cede the leadership to Ignatieff.
One Rae supporter was critical of letting caucus pick the leader, noting that the 77 Liberal MPs represent just a quarter of the 308 ridings nationwide and that thousands of party members would be frozen out.
"How democratic is that?" the supporter asked.
While a replacement for Dion wasn't due to be chosen until May, Liberals are now keen to move up that timetable in light of last week's parliamentary crisis.
Yesterday, Liberals scrambled to discuss options to fast-track their leadership contest to have a new leader take the reins by late January, when a key parliamentary vote could spark a new election or see a Liberal-led coalition take power.
One proposal yesterday would have seen party members use telephone and online ballots to vote next month on the choice of new leader. The deadline to sign on new party members would be moved up to early January, with the vote held mid-month.
The idea, which draws on the process already on the books for a leadership review, was floated by the party executive over the weekend and was supported by Rae.
However, the Ignatieff camp charged that the proposal violated party rules for selecting an interim leader. One source said the idea was not well-received at a meeting of the caucus executive.
The rules dictate that an interim leader is chosen by the national executive after consulting with caucus, a process that gives the edge to Ignatieff, who enjoys the backing of a "clear majority" of the caucus, according to one supporter.
Ignatieff would be interim leader and the leadership race still would technically be run at the May convention in Vancouver.
For his part, Dion is weighing his options in the run-up to Wednesday's caucus meeting. Liberal MP Bryon Wilfert (Richmond Hill), a Dion confidante, wants the party to provide an undertaking to deal with the debts from Dion's leadership contest in 2006 and ensure he leaves with "grace and respect."
"He needs to be treated as a wise man of the party, to be consulted," Wilfert said.
The Liberal party became convinced it had to move quickly to replace Dion as leader because of his inept performance against Harper in their recent showdown.
Governor General Michaëlle Jean's decision to grant Harper's request to suspend Parliament until Jan. 26 has given the Liberals a window to assess their leadership situation.
Had Parliament not been suspended, the Liberals and NDP had planned, with the help of the Bloc Québécois, to defeat the government in a confidence vote due today over Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's Nov. 27 economic policy statement. And, unless Flaherty presents a major economic stimulus package in the Jan. 27 budget, the Liberal-NDP coalition is committed to toppling the Conservatives.
The push to expedite the leadership vote comes because "there's too much at stake for us and for the country," one party strategist said. "We've got to get our act together."
Earlier yesterday, Ignatieff voiced support for moving quickly on the leadership issue.
"There's an emerging feeling in the caucus that, given the importance of this vote in late January, it would be appropriate to have a permanent leader in place," he told CTV's Question Period.
Showing posts with label Liberal leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liberal leadership. Show all posts
Monday, December 8, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
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
Presented by
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
Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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
Presented by
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
Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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