By Arthur Weinreb
Friday, January 26, 2007
Earlier this week Stphane Dion, Canada's new Liberal leader (if Steve can still call the Conservatives the "new" government, surely Dion can still be considered "new") told Le Soleil that he has no objection to Marc-Yvan Ct rejoining the Liberal Party. Ct was one of 10 Liberals who was banned for life by then-prime minister Paul Martin from membership in the party for the role that he played in the sponsorship scandal. Ct had testified before the Gomery Commission that he was given $120,000 which he distributed in envelopes to 12 Quebec Liberal candidates during the 1997 federal election campaign.
Dion's comments illustrated a lack of judgment or political street smarts and showed that he simply cannot understand how the ordinary Canadian views things. And this was not the first mistake of this kind. When it was revealed that Dion also held French citizenship, the former professor couldn't see why some Canadians were angry and thought that he should renounce his citizenship of a foreign country, especially if and when Dion ended up as the prime minister of Canada. The citizenship was a gift from his momma and he was going to keep it. He later backtracked saying that "if" it ever became an issue, he would renounce his French citizenship. Even while conceding that he might have to give it up, Dion gave no indication that he had even a minimal understanding of why the ordinary man and woman on the street was upset about the possibility of the country being led by someone who was also a citizen of a foreign country. When it comes to catching on to such things, Steph is no Michaelle Jean.
No one was asking for Ct to be banned from the Liberal Party along with nine of his fellow party members, for life or otherwise. It was a relatively meaningless gesture that Paul Martin did during one of his "mad as hell" moments. And no one really cares if Ct pays his $10 and gets another Liberal Party of Canada membership card. Elderly widows will not be lying awake at night, paralyzed in fear that Ct, with his regained membership may be passing their homes laden down with envelopes stuffed with cash. What Dion failed to comprehend and still doesn't understand is that a lot of ordinary Canadians think that everyone who was around during the sponsorship scandal, from Jean Chrtien on down, should all have gone to jail. And here's Stphane Dion saying that banning someone from the Liberal Party for life was too "harsh". He doesn't get it. The Liberal government during the late 1990s and early 2000s was the most corrupt in our nation's history, and to minimize it by even hinting that those who were stripped of party membership for life were being punished too harshly was a mistake that most political neophytes wouldn't make. Dion's naive statements also revived the sponsorship scandal that was pretty well dead as a future election issue.
There's no doubt that Stphane Dion is no Jean Chrtien but then again someone as politically astute as Chrtien comes along once in a lifetime. The issue is whether or not Dion can even become another Paul Martin. While Martin, who has been forgotten quicker than Kim Campbell and John Turner whose holding of the top job is measured in days and weeks, at least had a better understanding of ordinary Canadians. Martin somewhat successfully played to their fears of Scary Stephen to win a minority government in 2004. The dithering that became Martin's trademark is not a problem for Dion; rather it is his total lack of being able to relate to voters, especially those who might vote Liberal but who could just as easily cast their votes for another political party.
Paul Martin was living proof of the fact that a Liberal leader can become the prime minister of Canada notwithstanding serious defects in their ability to campaign or actually do the job. Dion cannot be completely counted out.
Understanding how ordinary people think when it comes to such issues of the treatment of those involved in Adscam or dual citizenship is key to winning a majority government. Barring some large misstep by Harper and the Conservatives, the future doesn't look too promising for Stphane Dion, at least in terms of winning a majority government and restoring the Liberals rightful position in the universe.
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