Toronto Star: Liberal MPs plot early retirement for Ignatieff

[JohnyCanuck]

Last year at this time, the Liberals were trying to get rid of Stéphane Dion and put themselves in the hands of their saviour, Michael Ignatieff. After 12 months, they believe that Bob Rae, the former NDP premier of Ontario now turned Liberal, is the new saviour.

Last year the opportunity to reboot the party's fortunes came after Dion forced the Liberals to embrace the Bloc-supported coalition with the NDP. This year the spark might be Ignatieff's support for the HST. The question many ask is whether Ignatieff's leadership will last until the end of the year.

Since Pierre Trudeau, no Liberal leader has left on his own terms. John Turner was shown the door by the Chrétienites; Jean Chrétien was forced out by Martinites; we know what happened to Dion and now we see Ignatieff is on the same path.

Since last Tuesday's "special" caucus meeting called by the leader to tell MPs to support the controversial HST, doubts about Ignatieff's ability to lead the party are surfacing more frequently. Many MPs openly oppose the HST, and those who backed the party's stand, like Rae, express their support only in private. No one is defending the leader in public, in the caucus or with the media. Basically, Ignatieff is alone and the question of loyalty is becoming a huge obstacle to his leadership.

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/734749

[HeresyLives]

1. Or not.

I woke up early this morning to a shock. In the news, I read a headline claiming that MPs were planning Michael Ignatieff’s early retirement. And then I read my own name mentioned as one of those who took part in a planned meeting at the Chateau Laurier to discuss how to move the Liberal leader out of the way. The piece, by Angelo Persichilli, claims that Bob Rae called a special meeting of Liberal MPs following a retirement party for Liberal senator Jerry Grafstein to discuss moving Mr. Ignatieff on. I have no idea how Mr. Perichilli came to such a conclusion.

http://glenpearson.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/wounded-in-the-house-of-friends/

[arikara]

2. They really are floundering, aren't they

With his support of the HST, Iggy has killed the liberal party in BC. Keith Martin was nearly throwing up when CBC interviewed him after the announcement, he only won by a few votes last time around.

[tuvor]

3. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. n/t

[CHIMO]

4. The Liberal coup that wasn't

1. 'A nonsensical story' - Bob Rae fights back from Cairo. The Liberal foreign affairs critic is not plotting an insurrection against Michael Ignatieff. Mr. Rae wrote to The Globe from Egypt, saying that a column in the Toronto Star yesterday, suggesting that he was the ring leader of a group of MPs wanting to push out Mr. Ignatieff, was “baloney.”

Indeed, Mr. Rae was just beginning a trip that is taking him to Cairo, Israel and Africa, where is speaking and meeting on peace and governance issues, when the bomb dropped in Star. The piece, by freelance writer Angelo Persichilli, documented a meeting between Mr. Rae and several other Liberal caucus members that took place last Tuesday night over drinks at the swank Fairmont Chateau Laurier. The MPs had gathered after feting retiring Senator Jerry Grafstein.

Mr. Persichilli wrote that some of the MPs were complaining about leader Mr. Ignatieff, likely touched off by his decision to support Stephen Harper's Conservative government on the controversial harmonized sales tax (HST). Mr. Persichilli then quoted MPs, including London Liberal MP Glen Pearson as saying that Mr. Ignatieff “was losing the loyalty of the party and Rae was ‘the only one the party trusts.’” Mr. Persichilli also said that MPs wanted Mr. Rae to take over as the defacto leader during Question Period, asking questions and running the files. The writer also took a shot at Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale, saying that some MPs wanted him removed “because he brings no added value to the party.”

It was a devastating column but one that left many Liberal MPs shaking their heads. Nova Scotia Liberal Scott Brison woke up to the news in his Annapolis Valley home, thinking that he just wasn’t hanging out in the right bars. “I must be missing something,” he said. He hasn’t heard about any of this.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/bureau-blog/the-liberal-coup-that-wasnt/article1391053/

Some previous articles by the author.
Ailing Liberals keep looking for a miracle cure
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/719021

Canadians lack a political alternative
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/715589

Feuding Liberals are hobbling our democracy
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/708342

Offstage Chrétien stirs Liberal leadership pot
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/704768

Harper may be many things but he's not 'mean-spirited'
http://www.thestar.com/federalelection/article/507364--harper-may-be-many-things-but-he-s-not-mean-spirited