By Klaus Rohrich
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Canada's chattering classes have had such orgasmic praise for the "surprise” selection of Stephane Dion as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, that one might think many have spilled their scotch glasses and shorted out their computers. Saying that praise for Dion by the Canadian punditry was effusive is like saying Pamela anderson is a girl.
The National Post proclaimed the Dion victory as a "changing of the guard”. The Toronto Star breathlessly proclaimed that Dion's vision "will resonate with those who believe government is about more than tax cuts and downsizing.” The Globe and Mail already had a poll at hand that put the Liberals over the top in the next election, while the Toronto Sun posited that Dion defeated the candidates of the "Liberal Party establishment” by beating Rae and Iggy. The Vancouver Sun proclaimed that Dion's victory gives the Grits a new start. The Montreal Gazette opined that Dion's selection will be "good for Canada”; while many pundits are commenting that Dion represents a "renewal” of the Liberal Party.
Gosh I hate to be a smartass, but it seems to me the guy's naked, the emperor, I mean. No matter how much I try to see those clothes, all I'm left with is bare, pale skin and maybe a few unsightly hairs.
For those of you who haven't taken your alzheimer's medication, I think it's only fair to remind you that Stephane Dion was a cabinet minister in the previous two Liberal governments. Yes, those governments, the ones that brought you the adscam affair, the billion-dollar HRDC boondoggle, the inefficient and ineffective gun registry and the baddest of all jokes, Kyoto. Nothing has changed, except the face of the guy in the spotlight.
The Liberals have this trick: every few years they select a new leader who proclaims himself not to be a part of the traditional Liberal establishment, to be from outside the inner circle, to bring with him new ideas, a renaissance, as it were. and every few years the media fall for it. They did so with Chretien, they did so with the hapless Paul Martin and now they are doing it with Stephane Dion.
When Dion spoke about his policies, he didn't really come up with anything radically new or different. His message was similar to the message Chretien sent when he became leader as well as that of Paul Martin when he made the cut. Yes, Canada is united and Quebec will stay in, (particularly now that they have been declared a "nation”) and we must save the planet by taxing the bejeezus out of us and we must institute more government controls on everything or the sky will fall. We must continue to blame everything bad on the americans and acknowledge that Conservatives are right-wing freaks whose ideas, as kingmaker Gerard Kennedy claimed, are "trinkets they picked up at the Republican discount store”.
If Dion really had a new vision or new ideas for the Liberal Party, then he might come up with something a little more original. Rather than proclaim that the Conservatives won the last election because they tricked the voters he might say something along the lines of "Gee, we didn't measure up the last time around because we were overly arrogant about being entitled to our entitlements.”
If Dion doesn't have any new ideas, then here are a few that he might try out: stop with the anti-american rhetoric already, break up interprovincial trade barriers, pursue a monetary policy that rewards effort, rather than one that punishes success and get rid of the bureaucracies that hamper farmers and drive up the price of their produce. Give aboriginal peoples an opportunity to succeed by making their leaders accountable for the nearly $10 billion a year the government throws at them. and for God's sake, stop pandering to Quebecers.
These are small ideas, but they're as a good place to start as any if your intent is to "renew” the Liberal Party of Canada.
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