Categories: Andrew Coyne, Capital Read

It's like 1968, only without the candidates, issues, excitement or leader

by Andrew Coyne on Friday, May 1, 2009 10:20pm - 67 Comments

iggy Oh dear.

Ignatieff draws link to Trudeaumania

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Can Iggymania be far behind?

Michael Ignatieff says the mood surrounding his ascension to the Liberal helm reminds him of the excitement that prevailed when Grit icon Pierre Trudeau was elected leader in 1968.

“You have to indulge an old guy like me, but this is the feeling that I felt in 1968 at the great convention that chose Pierre Elliott Trudeau as our prime minister,” Ignatieff told cheering youth delegates Friday at the convention that will formally acclaim him as leader.

In how many ways is this ill-advised? I wasn’t there, but it strikes me this event is about as far away as you can get from the 1968 convention — a close fight between several cabinet heavyweights, including Trudeau, Sharp, Winters, Martin, MacEachen, and Turner, in which sharply opposing visions of the party and the country were on display. As opposed, say, to the pro forma confirmation of the party’s de facto leader, at which the biggest policy issue is which hospitality suite to go to.

And Iggymania — this convention couldn’t rouse itself to mania if you put four million volts through it. In 1968 the Liberals were on top of the world, having enjoyed a successful five-year run as a minority government, and were looking forward to converting that into a majority. Today the mood is very different. The party is coming off its worst defeat since Confederation. They’re exhausted with internal struggles (which the ’68 convention more or less inaugurated), relieved to be rid of Stephane Dion, warily hopeful that Ignatieff might prove a winner.

But it’s not a lot deeper than that. Ignatieff is peculiarly suited to the party’s present mood: out of the country for 30 years and elected by acclamation, he has no ties to the bitter fights of the past. And having said so little of substance about what he would do as Prime Minister, he allows everyone to imagine he agrees with them. But I don’t get the sense that he inspires much passion, as yet, beyond his immediate circle — except for a certain lingering bitterness among some of Bob Rae’s followers. He’s up in the polls now, and that helps the mood. But whether it’s anything more than that — well, we’ll see. Maybe tomorrow’s speech will prove me wrong.

As for the not-so-implicit comparisons with PET: Even if there were any, which is a stretch, would it not be more seemly if someone else said it?

UPDATE: Never mind Trudeau. How does he stack up against Stephen Harper?

While the Liberal lead of 36 per cent to 33 could be enough to form government, the poll found Prime Minister Stephen Harper outranking Ignatieff on many counts on the eve of a national Liberal convention vote confirming his four-month-old leadership…

Canadians prefer Harper to Ignatieff by a wide margin on issues of vision, trust and ability to lead during tough economic times, said the poll of 1,001 adults conducted Wednesday and Thursday for Canwest News Service and Global National.

Tags: Liberal convention

More by Andrew Coyne

Stephen

Today’s Star Phoenix let its readers down by approving of this “very astute observation” by Michael Ignatieff:

“In politics, everything is what it is and not another thing.”

Oh, how astute.

iggythepiggy

Is’t just me or everythings he says is always like that.. NEVER a definitive answer..he is just not prime minister material AT ALL!!

Jarrid

There’s no Iggymania because Iggy, unlike Trudeau, has no sense of where he’s going. He dabbles, he tinkers, he muses, he stakes a little ground, then retreats. Trudeau knew where he was going and led people there, often kicking and screaming. And he had ideas and as importantly a clear idea about where he was going with those ideas. He was young, brash and charismatic. Iggy is none of those things. He hasn’t endorsed Trudeau’s vision of federalism, hasn’t proposed anything to replace it with, although he’s tinkered with it.

And let’s not get started on this charade of a leadership convention. Only a top-down political party such as the Liberals would dare forego a democratic leadership convention giving people an actual choice for leader among competing visions. The Liberal elite brass has decided that for them. Can one imagine the NDP or the Conservatives doing this? I can’t.

The Liberals desperately need a vision, and Ignatieff’s subtle zig-zag approach to leading is thus far leaving them sorely wanting on that front.

banquo’s ghost

Yeah, Harper had to face some heavyweight opponents to win his leadership.

nd

Who could forget his “clash of the titans”-like victory over Diane Ablonczy in 2002?
Jarrid

The Conservatives had a leadership race, like all functional modern political parties.

The Liberals didn’t. The Liberal Party elite chose Michael Ignatieff. They handed him the leadership on a silver platter.

Most political parties are trying to make themselves more inclusive and democratic like the one-man, one-vote approach to choosing a leader. The Liberals have had there least inclusive selection of a leader since probably confederation. C’est du jamais vu.

Derek Pearce

The Liberals don’t have quite as populist an appeal to their own members in the way the NDP and Conservatives do, and the members are mostly ok with that. It’s non-populist populism or something. The riding-level membership generally agrees with the “elite” decisions– the local membership is as practical about where to compromise or not to obtain power, as the party executive. I bet if you ask party members who can’t afford to go to the convention, they’ll agree that they should all get behind Iggy and win a government, and tinker with policy from that point. The natural governing party will naturally figure things out from there!

Even if Iggy didn’t mean to compare himself directly to the big T, he should be smarter about his soundbites. Canadians are in the mood to elect someone who has only a modest ego.

sf

they’ll agree that they should all get behind Iggy and win a government, and tinker with policy from that point

Call me old-fashioned, but I do believe the voters look for a platform before they cast their vote.
KOL

Call me old-fashioned, but I do believe the voters look for a platform before they cast their vote.

Off the top of your head, can you name one item from the ’08 Conservative platform?
Kat

“Canadians are in the mood to elect someone who has only a modest ego.”

Exactly!
Jenn

Non-populist populism, that sums it up nicely. As one of the Liberals who couldn’t go to the convention, I think you’ve captured my thoughts on this quite well. Although, I do want them to institute one member, one vote–then we can vote personally for whatever it is the party executive wants to do anyway. Yes, that sounds like sheep, but really it is more like the party executive has a handle on what we want.

Have to agree with the soundbite thing, as well.
sf

Off the top of your head, can you name one item from the ‘08 Conservative platform?

They had numerous initiatives that had been blocked by the opposition that were obviously in the platform (wheat board, gun registry, senate reform, crime measures, etc). They also decided to make their record and his proven leadership a part of their platform, which seems more appropriate for an incumbent than a challenger.

nd

Hey you know what else the Liberals have had since Confederation – the power in this country for like 80% of the time
banquo’s ghost

Also, you appear to be unaware that the CPC doesn’t have a “democratic one-man one-vote” approach to choosing its leader either.

Stephen

…lingering bitterness among some of Bob Rae’s followers

How much bitterness is there, really?

And how hard would it be to overcome, given the prospect of power?

Erstwhile Bob Rae follower Ralph Goodale, for instance, used his most recent issue of _The Goodale Report_ to praise Michael Ignatieff (aka the anti-Dion) to the skies.

He praised him–among other things–for ditching the Coalition agreement Mr. Goodale himself had arranged to have forcefully and publicly defended in early December in Regina.

Here’s the Report:

“A good illustration [of Ignatieff's respect for the West] is Mr. Ignatieff’s decision not to proceed with the idea of ‘a coalition government’ [the quotation marks are a nice touch, no?]–he was concerned that such a government would not have been regarded as sufficiently legitimate in Western Canada.”

Different concerns prevailed, apparently, last December, when Goodale’s own pro-Coalition statement was publicly issued in Regina.

Surely, then, the Liberal gift for historical amnesia–so well exemplified in Bob Rae’s most prominent one-time supporter–is more than enough to sweeten such bitterness as may exist among other one-time followers of Bob Rae.

banquo’s ghost

“How much bitterness is there, really?”

I’d say remarkably little.

Jesus, Coyne, how many leadership races have you covered? Yeah, egos get bruised in defeat. The new leader has to bring the party together blah blah. But given the historical propensity of the Liberal party for divisiveness, currently they’re a freakin’ model of cooperation.

Jarrid

“Jesus, Coyne, how many leadership races have you covered? Yeah, egos get bruised in defeat.”

Ahem….are Liberals now going to pretend that there was a leadership race? Or are you talking about the pre-empted leadership race? Pre-empted by the Liberal Party brass. They decided that there would be no more leadership race. And instead installed Michael Ignatieff as leader in a tele-conference call.

Jean Proulx

Gotta love how it’s the Conservatives like Jarrid that are outraged there was no LPC leadership race, while the vast majority of Liberals I know are perfectly happy that we can now concentrate on kicking Harper’s ass.

Mike T.

They had some luck with the “coup” and “separatist coalition” concepts (not to mention ‘not a leader’), and knowing their base the returns won’t be as diminishing as you might think.

http://deleted Sandi

What BS – growns ups move on and it seems that the grown ups in the Liberal party have moved on. Trying to create a conspiracy here?

Jean Proulx

If you’re bored you can always go home Andrew.
Mike T.

Still, if this is the dumbest thing Iggy says all year, it’ll be a big improvement over his first bid.
dan in van

Fine. Lots of things to question in this, but you’re citing a friggin’ Crapwest poll? The same company that Friday, on page 3 of the Vancouver Sun, splashed a standalone pic of Mrs Harper holding up a Canucks jersey? They couldn’t even get it to her husband but somehow it still qualified as pge 3 prime filler.
And their coverage of the convention? Another lame Barbora Yaffe column, reguritating snips from other stories and rumours purported to be close to truths without any real comment.
Hey, you’re right. Any comparison to ’68 had to be purely personal. It’s a stretch to say that this is like ’03, even… But besides looking hard for the glimmers of lint at the bottom of the linen drawer, is there nothing redeeming about this? Or are you finally over that crushing disappointment of your man’s free-spending obsession to be liberal-like that now you and Harper are going steady again…

Jarrid

“But besides looking hard for the glimmers of lint at the bottom of the linen drawer, is there nothing redeeming about this?

In terms of this being a top-down elite coronation as oppposed to a democratic grassroots leadership race, the answer is a resounding no.

http://deleted Sandi

Ya, and your partisan viewpoint is just so important to Liberals.

Considering the financial mess the Liberals were in, and given the times, and given that Ignatieff and the others had intended to have the race – I don’t really think of it as a coronation.

He would have won anyway. With a year or more wasted, no money coming in, etc., I don’t think they had much choice. It gives the party time to change it’s way of doing things, raise some money and get back on their feet. Otherwise, I think the party would have sunk out of sight.

dan in van

Jarrid forgets that this ‘top-down elite coronation’ as he calls it was a response to his so-called Leader’s partisan pusch that turned a political crisis of his own making into a national crisis. Harper’s ambivalence to the voice of Canadians — those same Canadians who a few months earlier said, OK, have another shot, but its still a short leash — was astounding in both his economic crapdate and the manner he responded to the opposition’s outrage. It is all of Harper’s making. While he can’t take credit for the solid foundation of our banking system (although bringing in 40-year, 0-down mortgages was quite 2002 Bushian-like) or the sound fiscal framework that stood until he blew it up in the ‘Great Farting Away of Canada’s Fiscal Balance in 2007-08′, this mess and the Liberal resurgence are all his. Well down, chess champion.

Jarrid

“Jarrid forgets that this ‘top-down elite coronation’ as he calls it was a response to his so-called Leader’s partisan pusch that turned a political crisis of his own making into a national crisis.”

The fact that the Liberal’s aren’t having a leadership race is the Conservative’s fault? Haven’t heard that one before, but it’s lame-o. The Liberals have to take responsibility for their actions I’m afraid Dan.

The Liberals made Dion walk the plank for his foohardy deal with the separatist devils. But that’s Dion’s fault. Then in the ensuing confusion and power vacuum, Iggy’s people seized control. Again, that was an internal power coup by Iggy’s people and their fault if you will. It doesn’t make it democratic, it doesn’t make it right and it has nothing whatever to do with the Conservatives, I’m afraid. Nice try though.

Derek Pearce

The Libs aren’t the Tories. If the vast majority of party members agree that Iggy will be a good leader for them, then why have a leadership race just for the sake of a contest? The bigger goal here is to take on and defeat Harper. Call it a coronation if you want– the “commoners” of the party are quite happy to have their new king slay the Tory dragon.

nd

I mean seriously. The Tories have had a couple of token leadership races in which a hapless candidate gets thrown to the wolves. It might have been better to save up their money instead of continue with the charade.

dan in van

At least we can find out who put down sheckles for our leaders. Still no idea who bought Harper’s job for him. Couldn’t have been a guy with any economic sense, obviously.

http://deleted Sandi

Would journalist please STOP their stupid questions.

All I see are interviewers asking – when’s the next election.

Also, who is Ignatieff, we don’t really know him. It’s like going back in history.

2005/6 – Who is Stephen Harper, we really don’t know him. Harper should reveal policies – yadda, yadda.

2009 – Who is Michael Ignatieff, we really don’t know him. Ignatieff should reveal his policies, yadda, yadda.

When did Harper first reveal his policies? NOT until the campaign of 2005/6 – one announcement each day.

Why the double-standard?

And, why do journalists think the Liberal conventions have to excite “them”? It’s not like the Con or NDP conventions are exciting.
Wandering

Briiliant! Quality journalism, telling Canadians something important about what they need to know.

Seriously, Little Lord Fauntleroy, get a real job already. ‘Cause this gig ain’t gonna much longer.
JR

A poll of 1,000 Canadians, eh? Small number. Would like to see where they conducted the poll. Exactly where. It certainly didn’t include anyone I know. Harper – Vision?!!

And yes, we’ll wait to see if Ignatieff can rouse the masses. Would be nice if he could.

JR

Craig O.

“A poll of 1,000 Canadians, eh? Small number.”

It really makes me sad when I see comments like this… It’s basic statistical reasoning, 1000 is fine to get a reasonably accurate sample.

Roger

As a “old” person who has moved in and out of support for the Liberals I must say Andrew is wrong on this call. The sense in the Liberal party is not identical but similar to 1968. Yes, Liberals had their worse defeat ever, but I do expect they will form a majority government in the next election. Yes, I know the polls don’t show this yet, but most Canadians do not pay very much attention to politics between elections and largely parrot headlines. The press has been spectacularly lazy in repeating the comment that Ignatieff has been vague. Nothing could be further from the truth, in fact Ignatieff is the first Canadian leader since Trudeau to propose that Canadian government be bold, ambitious and central. The contrast between Ignatieff and Harper is every big as large as the contrast in visions between Trudeau and Clarke.

How can we possibly believe a majority is in the offing? First, I love the way Ignatieff has handled virtually every “crisis” that has come his way since becoming leader. The Newfoundland revolt, the budget, the leadership race etc. He has managed to build a public persona that is both smart and classy. He has made the Conservative antics in QP (which worked well against Dion) into a liability and forced Harper to change his approach. (Still combative but he now actually addresses the question asked) . Ignatieff also manages the press rather than the other way around, and completely ignores their “demands” while remaining accessible. Finally, there is the palatable fear in the comments by hard-core conservative supporters and insiders. They have watched their party float several approaches to label and define Ignatieff and fail every time, while Harper’s negatives become more and more strongly defined. This is going to be fun.
marta

Bitterness? That is what oozing from Mr Coyne nowadays.Too Bad
The Liberals are on the rise.
Wandering

One minute Coyne’s dismissing torture and then in the other, he seizes on some trite over-exuberance and blows it all out of proportion.

I’ve never been so disappointed in our courtier class.
Jarrid

Memo to Wandering, marta, Sandi, dan in van, Jean Proulx, banquo’s ghost and other sensitive Liberals,

If you want fawning and sycophantic commentary go to the Toronto Star or Aaron Wherry’s blog.

From the tone of your comments you sound like a bunch of monarchists who can’t bear to hear anything critical of the reigning monarch. Despite his aristocratic pedigree and the unprecedented manner in which he will be crowned leader of the Liberal Party, Mr. Ignatieff is merely a politician and hence subject to fair comment criticism from the media.

Jenn

Fair point, Iggy is open to criticism (both by media and blog commenters). It is also fair for defenders to come to his defence, as Harperites do for Harper, yes?

But memo to Jarrid. No matter how many times you express surprise, outrage, condescension or any other way you frame it, Liberals are simply not going to get upset at the way Ignatieff is/was declared leader. See, this is that pragmatic side of Liberalism. By and large we approve, under the circumstances, what was done under the circumstances.

So find another wedge. This one’s gotten boring.

Jarrid

“By and large we approve, under the circumstances, what was done under the circumstances.”

A very revealing sentence, that. We the Liberals are fine with it, so who cares what Canadians or anybody else thinks. Guess what Jenn, how democratic a party is in fact is important to voters. And the procedure for choosing the leader here was not democratic, even by the Liberal Party’s previous mediocre standards.

And I won’t even begin to go into the lack of policy ideas that have resulted by the fact that there was no alternative visions and ideas put forward as a result of their having been no leadership race.

So whether or not the Liberal rank and file are O.K. with this is beside the point.

Jenn

You’re just upset because the Liberals have a number of good, solid choices we *could* have acclaimed. Some depth on the benches, if you will. Except they are not on the benches at all because the Liberals are a TEAM, as opposed to the one guy at the top who has to run everything because he can’t trust anybody else. And even then it often comes off badly.

No, Jarrid, how the Liberals choose their leader is not important to the general electorate. Who the Liberal leader is, is important, but how he got there, not so much. As a Liberal, I hope the convention gives us one member-one vote, as I said before. I also hope parachuting candidtates into ridings is done as a very last resort. How about you? Do you think having the leader select candidates for ridings is a good thing? Do you want to see some sort of parameters around when this would or would not be done? Or is “whenever the leader wants to is fine with me” more your style? Is a democractic way of doing things something to advocate for the Liberals, alone?
dan in van

Jarrid, when you can tell me and the rest of Canada who bought Harper’s leadership (a burning secret but with speeches from Australia, maybe it was Rupert?) then maybe I’d listen to anything you have to say about our leadership choice. Nice to see you’re concerned about our welfare. Or is still only yours that has you chirping away for?

Jarrid

“…you have to say about our leadership choice.”

That’s a very loose interpretation of the word “choice” dan.

Jean Proulx

Oh you have a perfect right to criticize Ignatieff Jarrid. Just as I have a perfect right to call BS when the only ones moaning about the LPC leadership selection process are Cons. I guess you were really hoping we would squabble about this internally. Sadly for you ain’t gonna happen.

Jarrid

See my comment to Jenn above. As I concluded, whether the Liberal rank and file are O.K. with this is beside the point. I’ll accept your and Jenn’s word that they are. It’s Canadians, you know Jean the ones that actually elect MP’s to Parliament that I’m thinking about.

Derek Pearce

If you genuinely believe that the electorate at large will hold it against Iggy that he was acclaimed leader when the next general election comes ’round, then keep making this point as is your free right. Most Liberals however will see this as trying to create a phoney tempest in a teapot. The general electorate tends to not give a crap about this internal party stuff once an election proper is underway.

Jean Proulx

Yep, Derek’s right. Nobody outside the respective political parties really care how they choose their leaders. We could draw straws for all they care.

What they acre a lot more about is whether the part is united or not. After all would you trust your government to people who are perpetually squabbling?

You’re just (futiley) trying to stir the pot Jarrid.

Chuck VS Macleans

LMAO, good to see you back Jarrid.

I would ad Geddes to that list. I just hope Wherry and Geddes where given knee pads..
Wandering

Memo to Jarrid. I’ll say what I want. If you don’t like that, go over to The National Post.

Skeegins

Poor Coyne can’t shake his affection for Harper, even after that shrill column a few months ago in which he got all emotional over the Cons stimulus package.

Jarrid

See memo to sensitve Liberals, above.
sf

I think Jarrid’s comment applies to you.

dan in van

Ah, crying babies. Seems more and more Cons are coming down with colic. Maybe put some bicarbonite in your gripe water next time, s*f…

Skeegins

Ignatieff is lean and in shape.

Harper is is an overweight oaf.

This is reason enough to vote for Ignatieff. The corpulent Cons have become arrogant and corrupt faster than any government in Canadian history. And, their waistlines have expanded as well. I believe they are the fattest government in history. It’s wise not to trust people who are always grabbing at the last scraps on the table and always plugging their faces.

Lean Liberals.

Corpulent Cons.

An easy choice.

Derek Pearce

Heh. Okay that was actually funny. But if you’re serious about your comment Skeegin my advice to the Liberal advertising shop is, don’t go with this! You’ll alienate the people who love Susan Boyle and you’ll electorally damage yourself!

Skeegins

New ad for next election:

Harper swings his face to look at the camera in slow motion. His jowls arrive a few seconds later. He tilts a two litre bottle of Pepsi, dribbling it down the front of his shirt. He belches. Plugs some doughnuts into his mouth. Van Loan, Moore, Kenney and Baird greedily scrape the crumbs off the ground and shove them into their mouths. They all dip their hands into a vat of lard that sits in the middle of the table and gulp it back. Harper waddles to the toilet.

Voice over: “Plugging their guts as Canadians lose their jobs. The corpulent Cons. Harper empties his guts as other world leaders stand for a group photo. The Cons are self-interested slobs…”
iggythepiggy

I am so glad to see Harper ahead in the polls in a lot of issues because he might be not a very personable likable guy, but he is more aware than “Iggythepiggy” in what’s going on and needs to be done, and BELIEVE ME he will be elected again, mark my words! He is just more prepared, as simple as that! By the way I am 100% liberal and I am so dissapointed by all the mess they have done in the last couple of years and Iggy’s election BIG HUGE MISTAKE, they need fresh blood, Leblanc, for example he would give a good headache to Harper, a run for his money! and to think of Bob Rae in anyway as a cabinet minister is one of the most scariest things it could happen to this country…

Jenn

Funny you are 100% Liberal, and yet have the same narrative stylings as our own Conservative Wayne. Maybe you both went to the same school.

nd

The University of Concern Trolling, no doubt.

Wayne

shouldn’t that be concerned trollers – not sure -

Wayne

narrative stylings : ROFL LMAO
iggythepiggy

Lol, no I am acvtually sadden but the turn of events, I will like to see a really new young brand of liberals…I miss my Paul Martin, I loved the guy!

Wayne

well said iggy … though I am a 100 % Conservative (formerly of your liberal persuasion but I grew up .. it happens a lot …) not sure about about LeBlanc – personally I am watching the stone where the sword is planted awaiting the once and future king and young heir apparent to the Liberal throne as he has certainly been playing his cards right. Let’s face it folks Justin did not accept a seat to be parachuted into instead he ran in one of the hardest ridings imaginable for him to run in and won – he got a major cookie from me on that one – now he is already delicately and almost surgically distinguishing his father and himself from the Igster while touching base with all the elder statesmen from the party no doubt having been bounced up and down on an occasional knee by a variety of important uncles in the Liberal camp.

iggythepiggy

I totally agree with you, Justin will grow in to his own and will bring the liberal party where it needs to be just like Obama is doing with the democrats, he needs to prove himself, I am pretty sure he will. Iggy just won’t do it, he always goes around with his senteces and that brainwashing he wants to do aboput new patriotism makes me ill!!

I never thought I would be saying this in a million years but I will vote Harper!!

Luke

2003 Peter Mackay makes the “Orchard deal” promising Orchard that if Mackay wins the leadership the PC would never merge with the Canadian Alliance. With Orchard’s support Mackay wins the final ballot with 65% of the delegates supporting him.
Mackay reneges on the Orchard deal, merges with the Alliance and allows Harper to be the dictator. Mackay and his parties debt of $6 million is miraculous paid off.
Al Heck Brakes

In actual practice Cons and Libs have nearly 100% the same policies. Namely, to keep all of the existing federal rackets going and cautiously but as quickly as possible expand them and create new rackets.

And yet – the more shallow and homogeneous the political issues, the more noisy, obnoxious and personal the political debate. The political hacks and weiners doth protest too loud. Partisan tales told by idiots, full of sound and fury signifying nothing but the same B.S. in a different (but much larger) pile.
kc

‘As for the not-so-implicit comparisons with PET: Even if there were any, which is a stretch, would it not be more seemly if someone else said it?”

Good shot AC. In a nutshell why i can’t seem to fall head over heels for Iggy – not to say he wont make a good PM – he very well may. But the baird said: ” love thyself last.” Guess Iggy didn’t like that line. Still, no one’s perfect, and he is running against SH, and not a legend from our past – he might do well to remember this.