Inkless Wells

Paul Wells on all the latest out of Ottawa—along with the occasional post about jazz. Follow Paul on Twitter: @InklessPW

Categories: Capital Read, Inkless Wells

Mme Krieber regrets

by Paul Wells on Saturday, November 21, 2009 8:48pm - 197 Comments

The wife of Stéphane Dion posts, and then removes, a Facebook update that won’t get her the best seat at the next Liberal Christmas party:

The Liberal party is in a free fall, and it won’t recover. Like all the liberal parties in Europe, it will become a poor little thing at the mercy of ephemeral coalitions. For having refused the historic coalition that could have placed it at the head of the left, it will be punished by history. Well, I was convinced the moment Paul Martin treated Jean Chrétien so cavalierly. That moment signalled the death of our party. If the elites of Toronto had been more alert, humble and realistic, Stephane was ready to take all the time and the hits to rebuild that party. But they couldn’t accept 26 per cent, now we’re at 23 per cent.

The time has arrived to make a choice. I don’t want the Conservatives to continue changing my country. They are in the process, slowly, just like any dictatorship, of changing the world. Torture doesn’t exist, corruption is a point of view. Do we really have the right leader to discuss these issues? Can someone really write all these insanities and make us believe he’s simply changed his mind? To justify violence, he must have really given it serious thought. Otherwise, that’s very dangerous. What guarantee would there be that he wouldn’t change his mind again? …

That sound from the Dion household is a voice counselling alertness, humility and realism. And they said irony was dead.

Tags: Janine Krieber, Stéphane Dion

More by Paul Wells

Richard

I've had it with Toronto-centrism. I'm joining Jack Layton.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Inkless Inkless

That's Toronto-all-ism. It's different.
http://intensedebate.com/people/s_c_f s_c_f

Bob Rae will give you Toronto-broke-ism.
Dryden gives you Toronto-Leaf-ism.
Hall Findlay gives you Toronto-feminism.

Tony W

Krieber’s comments are expression of someone who is disillusioned… but we are all humans and it takes courage to say what she said. Only death is irreversible. Neither democracy nor the Liberal party are dead yet in Canada but it is time for a wake-up call. Healthy debates and dissent are healthy expressions of the democratic process but what has happened on the political scene during the past few years, namely partisanery, infightings, back-stabbings etc. is regrettable. It seems to me that Harper’s “reign” is homologue of Bush’s who will only be remembered for its short-sighted and partisan actions. It is indeed surprising that the liberals have not been unable to focus and convey to the public anti-democratic and unethical actions of Harper government’s. It is time to put Canada back on the tracks of the values that Canada stands for. It takes now a visionary to govern. Stephane Dion’s views namely those on sustainable development those where the world economy is moving. Will the Liberal party wake-up and readopt such views that will achieve long term objectives beneficial for our country?
Hey Canada, Wake-up!
Mulletaur

Let's play spot the obvious contradiction :

"For having refused the historic coalition that could have placed it at the head of the left, …"

and then

" … Stephane was ready to take all the time and the hits to rebuild that party … "

Either he wanted to take the time necessary to rebuild the party and make it competitive as an electoral force, or he wanted to take power at the head of a coalition – the shortcut. You can't have it both ways, Mme Klieber.

http://intensedebate.com/people/s_c_f s_c_f

I agree. Maybe if they had not formed the coalition in order to vote non-confidence and take over. Maybe if they had formed the coalition before the election, not immediately after. Maybe if they had not formed a coalition with a policy convention. Then you could claim then the coalition was part of a rebuilding process.

But no. It wasn't. It was a power grab.

Mulletaur

I wouldn't go as far as to say it was a power grab, but there was clearly an alternative : let Harper get rid of the political party funding subsidy and then for the Liberals to actually do some proper grassroots fundraising for once. They are the ones who started on the path of reform of political financing after all by cutting the amounts corporations could give. If Dion truly wanted to rebuild the party, as Mme Klieber mentions in her diatribe, he would have grasped this nettle from the outset of his leadership. He did not. Instead, he was forced to make a decision on the funding issue when forced by Harper to do so from a position of weakness. How different would it have been had the Liberals said, go ahead Stevie, eliminate the subsidy ? If the Liberals had had good fundraising at the time, who would have taken the hit ? The Dippers and more importantly the Bloc.

http://intensedebate.com/people/s_c_f s_c_f

Actually, on the contrary, I think that Harper believed the NDP would have agreed to the subsidy elimination in an effort to weaken the Liberals. The Dippers were in much better financial shape than the Libs at the time. And frankly, it really was a good opportunity for Layton that he completely mishandled.

jarrid

Chantal Hébert once again is ahead of the game here. On her blog this morning at L'Actualité, she says that Krieber's musings about joining the NDP puts her husband in an awkward position. I agree.

Dion will now have to clear the air. Is he still a loyal Liberal or does he agree with his wife that their future is with the NDP?

Mulletaur

Does she have to have the exact same political affiliation as her husband ?

jarrid

No she doesn't. They do strike me as two peas in pod politically though,

But as I've said before, more than once, I've always pegged Dion as an NDP'er. I've always seen him as further left of any leader of the Liberal Party ever. Trudeau being a close second. But then again he was elected in 1968, everyone at that time was a leftist. So Dion is way more out of sync with his party than Trudeau ever was.

Judy Cross

I can't support either party given what I know about the unfolding evidence that the climate change dog and pony show is based on manipulated data. Read Tim Ball's account in Canada Free Press.

"Someone hacked in to the files of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) based at the University of East Anglia. A very large file (61 mb) was downloaded and posted to the web. Phil Jones Director of the CRU has acknowledged the files are theirs. They contain papers, documents letters and emails. The latter are the most damaging and contain blunt information about the degree of manipulation of climate science in general and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in particular. "
and
"These people controlled the global weather data used by the IPCC through the joint Hadley and CRU and produced the HadCRUT data. They controlled the IPCC, especially crucial chapters and especially preparation of the Summary for PolicyMakers (SPM). Stephen Schneider was a prime mover there from the earliest reports to the most influential in 2001. They also had a left wing conduit to the New York Times. The emails between Andy Revkin and the community are very revealing and must place his journalistic integrity in serious jeopardy. Of course the IPCC Reports and especially the SPM Reports are the basis for Kyoto and the Copenhagen Accord, but now we know they are based on completely falsified and manipulated data and science. It is no longer a suspicion. Surely this is the death knell for the CRU, the IPCC, Kyoto and Copenhagen and the Carbon Credits shell game."
Loraine Lamontagne

It is accepted in Quebec that a woman is capable of having political views independent of the views of the man she shares her life with. A good example of that is the current deputy premier of Quebec who is living with a member of the opposition.

But I do agree with the Conservative's view as expressed by Stephen Taylor that the 'average Canadian family' is not ready to vote for a person whose spouse is more educated than the candidate. That is seen as a sign a weakness. A man should be stronger than a woman – physically and intellectually. Maureen McTeer would still be unappealing to the 'average Canadian family' today.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

Mme Krieber regrets, she's unable to spin today, Iggy;
Mme Krieber regrets, she's unable to spin today.
She is sorry to disobey,
But last evening on the Internets she strayed, Iggy;
Mme Krieber regrets, she's unable to spin today.

When she woke up and found that the LPC was down, Iggy,
She ran to the keyboard like Duffy t' a free buffet;
And with many a withering frown,
She verbally smacked the LPC around, Iggy;
Mme Krieber regrets, she's unable to spin today.

When the Liberals came and weeping begged her take it back, Iggy,
She strung them upon the old willow without delay
And proceeded to tan their hide;
They lifted up their Liberal heads and cried, Iggy:
"Oh, how much we regret, she's unable to spin today."

Mme Krieber regrets, she's unable to spin today.

[youtube gP2UypjZbMo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP2UypjZbMo youtube]

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Inspired song choice, and hilarious lyrics. It could work well as a satirical comedy sketch. Imagine a professional singer in 30`s attire, crooning those words.
http://intensedebate.com/people/SamDavies SamDavies

+1
Someone is a little too creative on a Sunday!
Enjoyed……
http://intensedebate.com/people/Sir_Francis Sir_Francis

Brilliant. I have just one quibble.

The line, "She ran to the keyboard like Duffy t' a free buffet" implies that Mike Duffy can run–which stretches credulity and introduces a jarring note of surrealism into an otherwise conventional narrative.

You may want to use a verb that expresses a gesture lying within the scope of Duffy's actual physical competence. My suggestion would be, "She rolled to the keyboard…", "She loped to the keyboard…", or "She bounced to the keyboard…".

Anonymous

"The line, "She ran to the keyboard like Duffy t' a free buffet" implies that Mike Duffy can run–which stretches credulity"

Well, there is inertia to be accounted for. If the plain on which Duffy is moving is inclined and long enough, he could in fact build up an impressive rate of speed that would put sprinters to shame.

Mulletaur

Simply brilliant, Jack.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

Thanks, guys! H/t to Paul for the idea.

And yes, indeed, Sir Francis, "She bounced to the keyboard like Duffy t' a free buffet" is far superior. At all costs one must avoid understatement where the good Senator is concerned.

Marj.

Very creative and enjoyable!! I wonder why Mme Krieber feels the need to say the things she did. Was't it her husband who was/is the politician? I wonder how many other wives are actually steering the boat? I could see that Nancy Regan was, in Ronald's last years at the helm. When men or women get elected, it is not their spouses the electorate want in office, yet a number of them think otherwise.

kcm

"I wonder why Mme Krieber feels the need to say the things she did"

Oh i don't know…perhaps because she's a political scientist in her own right. It is the 21st cent, right?

kcm

Great Jack!
You might want to try attacked or assaulted? It seems to convey the resulting carnage more vividly.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

Mme Krieber regrets, she's unable to spin today, Iggy;
Mme Krieber regrets, she's unable to spin today.
She is sorry to disobey,
But last evening on the Internets she strayed, Iggy;
Mme Krieber regrets, she's unable to spin today.

When she woke up and found that the LPC was down, Iggy,
She ran to the keyboard like Duffy t' a free buffet;
And with many a withering frown,
She verbally smacked the LPC around, Iggy;
Mme Krieber regrets, she's unable to spin today.

When the Liberals came and weeping begged her take it back, Iggy,
She strung them upon the old willow without delay
And proceeded to tan their hide;
They lifted up their Liberal heads and cried, Iggy:
"Oh, how much we regret, she's unable to spin today."

Mme Krieber regrets, she's unable to spin today.

[youtube gP2UypjZbMo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP2UypjZbMo youtube]
Mulletaur

But he is the one who rebroadcast it to the wider CTV audience.
http://intensedebate.com/people/s_c_f s_c_f

Noce try, but what you really need to find is Harper blaming the media for his own troubles. That's an example of Harper blaming the media for someone else's troubles, which is completely different.
kcm

'which they later realized to be an abandonment of journalistic integrity. Finally, it was not a promise."

Oh god!!
kcm

Oops…gotta get more coffee…really cranky today.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Lord_Bob Lord Bob

See, what concerns me isn't that Krieber said those things. Go ahead and angst about your party and stand up for your husband's leadership even if you're the last person left doing it.

What concerns me is that she seems to genuinely believe some of the crazy things she was saying. Then she deleted the post anyway, as if accusing the Liberals of lacking constancy was enough for her to abandon her own.

Why is it that, in this country, whenever a member of the political class says what they mean they immediately back away from it so quickly they leave little trails of fire in their wake? Well, it's a silly question because I know the answer: "they have all the backbone of an intestinal parasite". But I still find myself asking it an awful lot.

http://intensedebate.com/people/jolyon jolyon

"A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth." – Michael Kinsley

kcm

But the ultimate gaffe is when a pol tells the truth and doesn't realise it.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

Ha! Very good.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Inkless Inkless

I actually think Lord Bob is on to something. Will La Présidente actually change parties? Or simply put up two-hour Facebook posts about it?
Dot

It's true. Her earlier Facebook comments about the state of Quebec cheese was pulled quicker than you can say "fondue".

Phil G.

As an old time PC, I remember well the Liberal glee at our problems with internal divisions during the leaderships of Bob Stanfield, Joe Clark and Kim Campbell. So, much as I'm no Harper fan, I find the ongoing woes of our Liberal friends hugely amusing. All those decades of arrogance have come home to roost.

p.s. I'll be voting Green again.

Orson Bean

I also think that what really gets under the skin of a lot of Liberals these days is that for the first time in a long time, the Tories under Harper are good at the black arts of politics. That was always the Liberals' forte. And of course Stanfield, Clark and Campbell were examples of hapless Tory losers who went up against the Liberals and got crushed, utterly outclassed come campaign time.

Dot

Here's a different angle on "La Présidente's Manifesto":

How confident are you that it was in fact Mme Krieber who wrote it, it is in fact her Facebook account, and /or it hasn't been hacked? It seems to me KO'M and Evan Soloman discussed this issue a week or two ago on his program.

Now, wouldn't that be mischievous if a certain party wanted to make a point about non verified statements?

I do know a guy who was a Marine Colonel who cares about foreign languages and loyalty. Allen Weh, the former chair of the New Mexico Republican Party

Fits all your facts :)

Has Ms. Krieber confirmed/denied? Haven't seen anything (well, haven't really been looking, to be honest)

Just sayin'….

http://intensedebate.com/people/TwoYen TwoYen

Dot, If it wasn't Mme Krieber we'd have heard about it long ago. I think the silence is her way of confirming it was indeed her.

Dot

Could be out fishin' for the weekend.

Dot

Guess it was her based upon this CP passage:

The Canadian Press obtained a copy of the note, which has since been deleted, where she openly questions whether current Leader Michael Ignatieff is the one to lead the party out of its funk.

Sources say Mr. Dion, a Montreal MP, was not involved in producing the note and that people in his camp persuaded Ms. Krieber to delete the message earlier Saturday.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

Yeah, but Colonel Weh is the man to lead the party? You're saying his whole RFI thing was a feint? Dashed clever, that Weh.

Dot

To try to narrow down the possibilities, I've been applying a variation of Flanagan's much acclaimed Game Theory.

After much trial and error, I've eliminated Professor Plum and Mr. Green. Mrs Peacock is off in SGI, so that pretty much narrows it down to Colonel Mustard.

Mustard…French Mustard…Dijon…Dion. It all fits.

The Colonel!

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

"It doesn't have to be plausible, it just has to be true."
Dot

"Marital Unit, Corps, God, Country."

http://intensedebate.com/people/Bernie37 Bernie37

Mme Krieber is absolutely right. Canada and/or the Liberal Party are not yet ready for a decent, honest, truthful politician. One who is intelligent enough to know what our priorities should be and has the guts to present them knowing the political results. I would not support the Liberals with Ignatieff as leader. (nor Martin before him).
Iggy places partisan politics above what's good for the country.

Orson Bean

Yeah right. Dion is too good for us. Spare me.

Tim Landry

Paul Martin (Pig Manure) killed the Liberal Party and it will NEVER return. I agree the Tories are not much better (they may even be worse) but NEITHER should lead our country. It is time for a new party – the Greens? – to take over
http://intensedebate.com/people/jolyon jolyon

What happened to Geddes post on his thoughts about Krieber? Seems to have disappeared down memory hole and all we get now is all Wherry, all the time.
http://intensedebate.com/people/psiclone psiclone

What a wonderful time to be a Conservative and sit back and watch the LPT implode!