No doubt, but unless solar activity and temperature trends turn around soon S&S are going to have to come up with a new shtick to try to undermine Canada. Click the image for article from today's National Post (via FR).
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
Dion staying on is like giving bonus points to the CPC.
The Liberal party I’m sure won’t allow him to last out the week.
What they don’t seem to understand though is that Canadians have grown up. The Liberal party has gone so far to the left that they have lost all their following along with the money that comes with them. The party has no choice but to redesign themselves and consult the electorate. So far their consultation has been to tell us how stupid we are for not voting for them. Sucks to Liberal.
I agreed he should stay, on the CFRA poll. ;-)
I hope they let Stephanie stay until they get a new leader.
So far their consultation has been to tell us how stupid we are for not voting for them.
We are too stupid to understand how wonderful they are. /sarc
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