The answer is never.
There is no need for me to tell those of you who know me that I have a long-standing distaste for M. Coderre and his incredible, selfish desire to undermine almost every Liberal leader since he became an MP. In the Outremont by-election against Tom Mulcair, I stood within 5 feet of him whilst he gave an "anonymous interview" raking Stephane Dion over the coals.
In caucus, he did everything in his power to destroy not only Dion, but his entire OLO.
Today, being the same self-centred SOB that he is, Coderre has called a press conference, thereby now undermining his own leader of choice, Michael Ignatieff. (The OLO has no idea what the press conference is about or what he will be saying) With any luck he will do what he has asked many other sitting MPs to do over the past few months...step down and make room for new blood.
P.S. I'm really, really, really, really trying......but.....
17 comments:
Any idea when this presser is to take place? I'd certainly like to hear what he has to say.
Why is Ignatieff even listening to this jerk? Do you know?
Bob Fife says the presser is this morning in Montreal.
Bye-Bye windbag...
We'll only from being lieutenant...
Did I read that Coderre wanted 4 MPs to step down, including Dion?
Lizt.
I definitely did hear about that. Not only did he want Dion to step down, he wanted Lise Zarac from Lasalle Emard to step down. I believe she got elected only last year. To hear that kind of request just makes you wonder about the way Coderre's mind works.
On another note, Coderre seems like the kind of guy whose face is in a perpetual sneer. Either that, or he enjoys sneering at fallen opponents or people he's about to trample.
One more thing I'd like to mention about Coderre's pending resignation. I doubt there was anything else he could have done.
The position of Quebec Lieutenant is as traditional in the Liberal Party as the colour red. He or she is supposed to have the final say in how the strategy in Quebec is played out. Once that authority is undermined, anything else you do is in question. Jean Lapierre even said that if Paul Martin had done the same thing Iggy did, he would have resigned on the spot.
Let's hope they find a better QL, I heard Bob Rae's name being bandied about. Or how about we just don't have a QL at all? Isn't Iggy supposed to be making the final judgment calls on who runs under him?
From the sidelines: This conservative thinks that it's sort of a symptom of Michael, and the party elite, being to eager to displace Harper. Some fundumental rebuilding should have taken place after the last election, and the continued errors of Liberal's past, such as, perhaps, Coderre, continue to haunt.
Yep. He's gone. Also stepped down as Lib defense critic. About time!
Rob, Coderre was always more interested in promoting himself over the party.
I've often commented that the Quebec wing is too much like an old boys club ready to pander to self-interest and weaken national unity.
While there is some truth about Coderre stating that the Liberals are being run from an inept brain trust in TO (lovely polling numbers WK, are we lower than Dion's yet? ), it seemed that Coderre was running for Coderre with delusions that he'd be PM someday.
There is an arrogance emanating from the Liberals in Quebec (You are part of the problem Mr. Garneau)... You have to admire someone like Trudeau Jr for actually doing the ground work and getting elected.
I'm sure that the Liberal "brain trust" did not enjoy being repeatedly eviscerated in the Montreal Gazette editorials but it only underscores how out of touch Coderre is/was.
I agree with "Don't Tase Me, Bro! " about this being the only recourse for Coderre. In the end, this also reflects badly on Iggy for making bad choices and his about face.
So, Coderre is upset that the poor party members in an opposition held riding will need to pick their own candidate?
.and on a day we, as Liberals, are preparing to topple a government.
Oh, puhlease. Everybody and their political dog knows that's not going to happen. That's overblown hyperbole.
As for Coderre, if he's such an "SOB", why did Ignatieff change his mind last week about what was going on in the riding?
The Liberals, once again, are airing their dirty laundry in public because they can't seem to get their shit together in private. That's what this story is about - not some coup by Coderre.
CWTF:
I think it is fair to say that politics, broadly speaking, attracts a certain sort of egotist, and the Liberal party isn't the only one infected.. but, when the crew has several people paddling in different directions, all with their own view of which is most provident - and that certainly I think is a lingering problem back to even Chretien's day.. to date, my own sense is there is less cohesion than appeasement between different factions and Coderre's announcement is a symptom of that.
I think the real issue here is that, unlike every Liberal leader since Trudeau, Ignatieff made a call that put party loyalty ahead of personal loyalty to him, and at a personal cost to him.
Ignatieff offered the position to Cauchon, he turned it down only to change his mind after Ignatieff had made a commitment to another star candidate, luring her out of a successful career to run for public service. I don't think it odd for him to stick with his commitment to Le Prohon, but I do think it shows he put the party first by working something out for Le Prohon and Cauchon. Coderre has actually done a lot to rebuild the party in Quebec and they have been working like dogs to get, so far, some 69 quality candidates lined up for the campaign. There is no truth to the rumour that 4 MPs including Dion were asked to "step down", and two of them have said so publicly. They were asked what their plans were.
And that also highlights a difference in the leadership of this party.
If you supported Martin, you had no chance of making it into cabinet under Chretien, or getting any attention for your projects. It was no better under Martin. Personal loyalty and history with the leader was all that mattered.
This is the first really tangible sign that the party is moving beyond those leadership battles. Party is being put first over personal loyalty or "the next leadership" race.
Good for Iggy. There will be some casualties along the way - losing Coderre would not be good for the party, but bringing him down two or three or seven pegs is a good thing - but if you put the party first instead of loyalty to you, the party will reward you with loyalty.
Boy oh boy! Testosterone fluctuations.!
I'm starting to think Michael is a Conservative mole. Think about it.
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