No one should be surprised that federal Liberal
Leader Stéphane Dion is a weak leader. One of the worst-kept secrets in
Ottawa is that the Liberal Party, under Dionıs leadership, doesnıt stand
a chance of defeating Prime Minister Stephen Harperıs Conservatives in
the next election. However, nobody would have suspected that Dion was
going to admit it even before going to the polls and already looking for
partners to form a government.
The Liberal leaderıs decision not to run a Liberal candidate in the
riding of Nova Scotia in order to support Green Party Leader Elizabeth
May, is first of all, a gift to NDP Leader Jack Layton
(Toronto-Danforth, Ont.) and another nail in the political coffin of
Dion (Saint-Laurent-Cartierville, Que.).
The agreement means heıs abdicating the duty of his party to defeat
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay (Central Nova, N.S.). Itıs a
concession of defeat even before the vote.
This is unheard of in the history of a national political organization.
Basically Dion is telling Liberals, ³Sorry folks, we cannot win this
one, let others try.² But this decision does not only illustrate Dionıs
weakness as a federal political leader, it is also brings into question
his political intelligence, and highlights, underscores and emphasizes
his naivety. Most of all, it reflects Dionıs lack of respect for the
intelligence of voters.
Basically, heıs saying he believes that agreements from the top can be
imposed to the rank and file party members without any consultations,
but with a stroke of a wand. This is not the first time he has bypassed
democratic rules to impose his own views. He believes he can go into any
riding in Canada and tell his candidates, not to run one of their own
and vote for another party.
Yes, he is bending the democratic rules to facilitate the candidacy of
women. Mr. Dion should know better than ³imposing democracy² is an
oxymoron everywhere, even in politics. Besides, instead of parachuting
his supporters in safe ridings, like Martha Hall Findlay, why doesnıt he
make an effort to keep those that are already there, like Belinda
Stronach, even if they were not in the list of his supporters?
Dion has to understand that making decision from the top and signing
papers, is merely a way to consider the job done.
One case in point is the Kyoto Protocol agreement: he and his government
signed a bunch of papers and then proceeded to do nothing to make it
work between 1997 and the date they were removed from government.
But the from the top-down agreement in Nova Scotia, while it brings no
surprise from the ³don Quixotesque² leader of the Liberal Party, it is
an opportunity to better understand the new leader of the Green Party of
Canada.
When May decided to run in Nova Scotia against the political ³giant²
MacKay, I thought she was gutsy, even though politically naïve.
Through her agreement with Dion, she has confirmed her political
naiveté, that sheıs presumptuous, and doesnıt have guts. She is like the
little David deciding to challenge the nasty Goliath but, at the last
moment, asks her parents to go with her.
She is naïve because she believes that Dion can tell Liberals what to
do; and sheıs presumptuous because sheıs telling the ³green electorate²
to vote for the Liberals in other ridings outside Central Nova, N.S.
Ms. May doesnıt understand that thereıs no ³green electorate.² There are
disgruntled voters unhappy with the conventional parties and looking for
a new leadership. Most of them are coming exactly from the Liberal
Party.
Through her agreement with Dion, sheıs telling disgruntled Liberals‹who
in the last polls most likely appeared under the ³Green Party² support
and did not like Dionıs leadership, to go and vote for Dion.
If they decided not to vote for the Liberals, it was also because they
were unhappy with the way the Liberal government, and Dion handled the
environment file. As mentioned before, signing a piece of paper, even if
the letterhead says Kyoto, wonıt clean our space, air and water without
any concrete action.
And, according to some environmentalists, the best government to deal
with the environment, was not the one where Dion was serving as a
minister, but prime minister Brian Mulroneyıs.
The agreement in Central Nova is nothing but a naïve attempt of
desperate people who believe they can fool people and reach the top
through short cuts and expediency.
There is a good chance that most of the people that thought to go to the
Green Party in search for a new leadership, are now having second
thoughts and, Iım sure, the name Jack Layton is often coming up in their
minds.
