For Canadian political junkies, these are interesting times.
The Globe's
Daniel Leblanc gives us a peek into the inner turmoil of the
Liberal party's Quebec ranks, and it ain't a pretty picture (
Dion facing revolt in Quebec ranks).
We first heard of this discord several weeks ago when
Joël-Denis Bellavance alluded to a
révolte silencieuse on
Mike Duffy Live. Both
Bellevance and
Jean LaPierre had heard
rumours that Bob Rae had control of the Quebec wing and was wanting to wait until the March 17th by-elections had passed and Rae had time in front of the cameras in Parliament before forcing an election.
However, the
Silent Revolt is getting louder -
LeBlanc suggests even more serious in-fighting and lack of faith in Stéphane Dion.
Lisa Frulla in particular is surprisingly candid with her remarks:
“He has no instinct,” former Liberal minister and political commentator Liza Frulla said in an interview.
“At a certain point, people feel it if there is something wrong, even if they don't know exactly what it is. But he, poor Stéphane, doesn't feel it.”
She also has strong words for Dion's Quebec lieutenant:
Ms. Frulla also said publicly what many Liberals are saying privately about Mr. Dion's lieutenant in Quebec, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette.
“She is abrasive and she is narcissistic,” Ms. Frulla said.
The former minister of Canadian Heritage argued that Ms. Hervieux-Payette is failing to connect with grassroots organizers.
“The more people know her, the more they run away. She has met a number of riding association presidents, and these people … are leaving,” Ms. Frulla said.
(I sure can agree with her on that one. I can barely stand to watch the woman on MDL.)
In any case, it would appear that Quebec cannot be counted on for Liberal support at this moment in time, which may push the likelihood of an election off until the fall or later - especially after the dismal performance of the LPC in
two of the four recent by-elections.
If that happens, it will be hard to imagine
Bob Rae ranting about the government on one hand, but then actually joining the
Party of Hand Warmers on the other, as the LPC continues to run away from votes in the Commons. Will Bob Rae declare mutiny?
Which leads me to the slugfest between
Jim Flaherty and
Dalton McGuinty. Why would Flaherty continually poke McGuinty in the eye regarding tax policy and its alleged affect on the economy?
The answer may lie in
John Ivison's observations in today's Post:
...But Mr. Flaherty's unprecedented interference in Ontario's budgetary process was not designed to persuade his Ontario counterpart, Dwight Duncan, to shred the already printed budget and present a cobbled-together alternative more to his liking.
It was designed to send the message that, even though many Ontarians often think of the federal Conservatives as villains, they are really the "goodies" -- the guardians of fiscal probity. By contrast, Liberals, both federal and provincial, are spendthrifts who will lead us all into a new era of deficits, unemployment, homelessness and rickets...
So all this may well be a carefully honed-plan to set up the CPC as looking like the party to rely on in times of
economic difficulties which would, if it all goes according to Hoyle, allow a rich harvest of discontented Ontario voters assuming a worsening of the economic downturn - especially if provinces that follow Flaherty's advice end up faring better than Ontario.
And with the Quebec wing in tatters and Ontario voters looking for responsible, effective fiscal policy, the scene becomes fertile for either an election with positive results for the Conservatives, or else the Liberals continue to enable the present government to enjoy a tacit majority.
Your move, mon petit empereur.