I'm from Vancouver Island, about as far removed from Outremont as you can get and still be in Canada. I was a supporter of Stephane Dion when he contested the Liberal leadership. My support didn't last long as I saw his ineffectual leadership come to plague the party.
I'm not going to comment about what went wrong in Quebec. You Easterners have the right to call that one. What I will say is that Stephane, intelligent and well-intentioned as he is, has been a total dud out here. He isn't gaining traction, he isn't even scratching the surface. He's a dead loss.
My loyalty is to the Liberal Party and what that means as I see it, not to its leader or those who elected him. I want my party to be relevant where I choose to live. It's not.
I guess Dion has earned the right to drag the party down in the next general election but I sure hope his successor will be everything he's shown himself not to be and the sort of person who this region of mine is waiting for.
Sure is easy to kick someone when they're down eh?
ReplyDeleteMOS has been critical of Dion all through this summer. Still he has yet to convince me why he is not a leader.
ReplyDeleteDidn't they say the same about Mr Chretien shortly after he became leader in 1990? Can't speak english, not a leader, etc...
ReplyDelete3 years later he did ok, I think...
All I know is, if you had Bob Rae, you guys would be flying right now. Even the Cons agree, which is why they sabotaged his campaign.
ReplyDeleteOh well, more fuel for the revolution. I don't need a leader, thanks, I can make decisions for myself.
Scott, I'm not kicking Dion when he's down. It's the Liberal Party that's down, for a number of reasons, but Stephane Dion is surely one of them. The Libs ought to be doing better, so much better, but that isn't going to happen without a leader who energizes the party and attracts the interest and support of the Canadian people. If Dion is the square peg trying to fit into the round hole we have to recognize and accept that. Politics is a blood sport and our party isn't even swinging much less landing any punches. All summer long I've watched and waited to see some sign of life from Stephane Dion. Apparently I wasn't alone.
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