Posted on 10/20/2008 12:23:43 PM PDT by fanfan
OTTAWA - Stephane Dion is stepping down as Liberal leader.
He will remain leader until a replacement is chosen, he told a news conference today.
"I will not be a candidate for the leadership," Dion said.
Dion made official today what had been rumoured for days - that his tenure as party leader was ending after less than two years.
He becomes only the second leader in Liberal history not to have served as prime minister.
His fate was sealed by last week's election results, when the party lost 19 seats and suffered a loss in popular support.
Dion said he spent the last few days "in reflection" deciding his future in politics.
The former political science professor said he came into politics to help keep the country together.
Dion said he accepts his share of responsibility for the "disappointing" election results.
But he said the problems of the party go beyond leadership and he cited party fundraising as one great hurdle to Liberals' election hopes.
He noted that the well-financed Conservatives were able to spend "massive" amounts on advertising slamming Dion and the Liberals' carbon tax plan.
"This is a trend that has to be reversed," Dion said.
He said the Liberals must bring their fundraising into the 21st century or the party will be at a "permanent political disadvantage."
"We cannot allow others to distort and confuse just because they have more money," Dion said.
If the Liberals had the cash to advertise its policies and its leader, Dion said he's confident the party would have won.
Dion blamed the Conservative "propaganda" for shaping his image in the public mind and says now it would be too hard to change.
"It is cemented in the mindset of Canadians too much," he said.
He said he was not bitter at the outcome. "The past is the past," he said.
The once-mighty, self-described “natural governing party” is now likely to turn a previously scheduled policy convention, booked for May in Vancouver, into a leadership convention.
The contest is almost certain to become another showdown between deputy leader Michael Ignatieff and former Ontario NDP premier Bob Rae. They were the front-runners in the 2006 contest but so polarized the race that Dion was able to come up the middle to score a stunning come-from-behind victory.
Both men, former university roommates, have kept their leadership machines warmed up and began quietly revving up their engines immediately after last Tuesday’s election.
The Liberals were reduced to 76 seats, down from 103 in 2006. They captured just 26.2 per cent of the popular vote — two points less than the party’s disastrous showing under John Turner in 1984 and only four points ahead of its worst-ever showing in 1867.
Liberals who fear another polarizing clash of titans are casting about for alternatives, including former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna and former deputy prime minister John Manley.
Liberals close to McKenna say he’s very unlikely to take the plunge, but Manley has been coy about his intentions.
Two other contenders from the 2006 contest could take another stab at the top job: former Ontario cabinet minister Gerard Kennedy, the kingmaker who ensured Dion’s victory; and Toronto MP Martha Hall Findlay, who ran last in 2006.
Other possible contenders include: New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc, Montreal MP Denis Coderre, Ottawa MP David McGuinty, and Vancouver MP Ujjal Dosanjh.
Liberal insiders have said Dion was bitterly disappointed by the election results. He and some of his tiny band of loyal supporters believed he deserved a second chance to reverse Liberal fortunes.
But Dion was forced to accept that he simply could not win a mandatory, party-wide vote of confidence in his leadership, the results of which would have been announced at the May convention. He had neither the strong base of support nor the money required to win a leadership review campaign.
Dion still has about $200,000 in debts from the 2006 leadership.
The owlish former university professor never seemed to connect with party members or the public. He was bedevilled throughout his term as leader by whisper campaigns and leaks from caucus.
Within a month of Dion taking the helm, the Conservatives launched a stinging series of attack ads depicting him as weak and ``Not a leader.” The ads helped define Dion in the public’s mind before he had a chance to define himself.
Ignoring the advice of many MPs, strategists and his own pollster, Dion compounded his problems by adopting a complicated proposal to impose a carbon tax — offset by cuts to income and business taxes — as the centrepiece of his election platform.
The plan proved difficult to explain during the campaign, particularly given Dion’s halting English, and presented an easy target for the Tories.
With files from The Canadian Press
Wish he would stay on. I thought he wasn’t a quitter?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Dion is a “Runaway”?
Not to mention the refunding job ahead of them.
;-)
I wish he would stay too.
That’s a pathetic Gallic shrug. Nobody could do the shrug like Pierre Trudeau. When Trudeau shrugged, his total contempt for the “masses” was obvious. Dion seems to be pleading: “Why me? What did I do? It’s not my fault”. Trudeau made it clear that he didn’t care what his critics thought — Dion makes it clear that he cares too much.
It’s sad, you know.
He was such a patsy for the power brokers.
The Liberal Party of Canada used him as a caretaker, so the big powers could come back in, when the electorate calmed down.
They didn’t know the internet would put their lies to truth, so right now there isn’t much of a Liberal party to save.
Watch though, in the next few months, for someone backed by Maurice Strong, and Soros.
the Liberals are in a bad spot. Replacing Dion with someone else won’t make a difference. the problem is, they have no base. If you are on the left, you’ll be excited by NDP or BQ, not Liberal. The Liberals are the boring, practical, left of center party and are being attrited.
On the other hand, Harper’s Conservatives united the moderates with the conservative base and that is the way to go.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
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"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
It doesn't seem to matter in the US.Obama's Carbon Ultimatum
Let's not get cocky.
While we are patting ourselves on the back, the Liberal back room Sherpas could be busy recruiting somebody competent like Frank McKenna to take the helm and steer the party back into the main channel.
well they will keep the Conservatives on their toes, which is a good thing. Everyone wishes conservatives had a majority but majorities tend to overreach or slack off, like Bush and Hastert. It is better to move up the slow and steady way than win in one big election only to lose everything a few years later.
the left and the Quebecois won’t go for him
Shhh.
It's not a problem.
;-)
Good observation.
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