Give Dion a chance
by
Angelo Persichilli
THE HILL TIMES
Liberal Leader Stéphane
Dion’s shadow Cabinet of critics and caucus chairs, unveiled
last week, is all about connecting the past with the future.
Dion
created critics for ministries that existed when Jean
Chrétien and Paul Martin were in power, but which don’t
exist now, and he created special committees, many of them,
to map out the future.
It’s
almost as if he’s trying to ignore, or look past, the
present Stephen Harper Conservative government, to make a
connection between what was going on three years ago and
what’s going to happen in the future.
The
reason for creating a huge shadow Cabinet has nothing to do
with existing federal programs, but it does have a lot to do
with Dion’s strong desire to unify the party. The creation
of so many committees indicates that Dion is serious about
tackling the most important issues the country is facing
now, but that might work only if the critics and caucus
chairs are going to have enough time to do their jobs.
The new
leader of the Liberal Party is an intelligent individual who
knows full well that his party doesn’t have a team ready to
fight an election in the spring. He also doesn’t have the
money or a platform. Most of all, Stéphane Dion is not ready
himself to lead the Liberals into a national campaign.
For
this reason, Dion doesn’t need, and, I suspect, doesn’t
want, a strong team to deal with the present Conservative
government because the last thing he wants right now is an
early election.
His
intention is not to declare an immediate war against
Harper’s government, but only a warfare hit-and-run, just to
make sure that the Conservatives don’t start to feel too
comfortable in this position of power and that Canadians
aren’t too cosy with the Conservatives.
Will
his plan work? Well, that’s another story and the answer is
very complicated because there are many people holding the
cards who will determine the date of the next election.
Let’s
face it, despite some pollsters saying that no political
organization can take comfort from the results of resent
polls, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand
that the only party that might benefit from a spring vote is
the Conservative Party. The supporters of the Bloc are going
to be busy on two fronts because of the impending Quebec
provincial election as will the Liberals in the upcoming
Ontario election.
The
Conservatives have no direct organizational interest these
elections.
The
Liberals, as I said before, are not ready for a spring
election, and the NDP has no direct interest, or power, in
triggering an early election.
So does
this mean that Dion’s plan will work? Well, in order to
answer that question, we have to venture into a minefield:
the unity of the Liberal Party.
Dion’s
good intentions look good on paper, but they might run into
some difficulties when they hit reality.
Already, I’ve heard disputes about the creation of the new
team around the leader and about many “vetoes” flying all
over the place.
The
“Martinites” and “Chrétienites” are still out there, but
there’s still no sign of “Dionites.” It’s a long and
tortuous process and there are some already complaining
about the direction of the new party.
“Some
might have already reached the conclusion that Mr. Harper is
going to win the next election,” one a Liberal strategist,
who did not want to be identified, told
The Hill Times,
“and our only hope
to win back government is after the next election. So why
don’t we go immediately to the polls, pay the price and
start to rebuild the party with more time.” So is this
merely a strategic plan to unify the party, or just an
opportunity to get rid of a leader who still has to prove
himself? I hope Dion will be given the opportunity to prove
himself. He is trying hard to unify the party. He’s also
honest, intelligent and he loves his country. Yes, he has
some difficulties expressing himself in English, but I
prefer by far someone who has good ideas but difficulties in
articulating them in one of our official languages over
someone who has nothing to say, but says it very well. |
