NDP, Conservatives did Liberals a big favour

By trying to topple the government earlier this week, Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals probably believed it was a great chance to turn the focus onto themselves.    And it only makes sense, considering the fact that it was known the Liberal non-confidence motion was doomed from the start, to think that one of the main goals was to draw attention to the Liberal party. As well, as the Liberal party touts itself as a replacement for the Conservatives, it wants to show people that Ignatieff is ready to govern Canada.    Too bad he can’t even seem to govern his own party.    On Tuesday, the focus of the media was not so much the confidence motion but the recent departure of Ignatieff’s Quebec lieutenant, Denis Coderre.     Coderre bailed from the good ship Iggy on Monday but not before he lobbed a grenade onto the ship’s deck.    Coderre essentially accused Ignatieff of being a dictator and overruling him on an issue of Quebec matters. Coderre turned it into a Toronto vs. Quebec issue.    “Much more fundamental questions are raised by these events: Who should the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada listen to on decisions that strictly affect Quebec?” Coderre asked on Monday.    “Should he follow his Quebec lieutenant while working closely with a credible team? Or his Toronto advisers who know nothing about the social and political realities of Quebec?”    I’m sure the Tories gleefully rubbed their hands together, watching the Liberals’ internal struggles aired in public for all to see.    This latest struggle, which hurts Ignatieff’s credibility in terms of how well he manages his party, made the attempt to defeat the Conservatives seem that much more half-hearted. The way things are going right now, the Tories would probably love to face off in an election against an infighting Liberal crew.    What ultimately happened with Coderre was that he had been overruled in his choice for a candidate to run for the Liberals in the NDP-held riding of Outremont by Ignatieff, after the leader had initially approved the candidate.    After Ignatieff changed his mind and overruled Coderre, the long-time Quebec MP, who is not renowned for playing nice with other children, quit  as the Quebec lieutenant and damaged the good ship Liberal on his way to shore. This showed that Coderre is more interested in himself than the party. It makes one question why Ignatieff gave him such a valuable job in the first place.    Any party usually needs time to heal before running into a major battle after such an internal squabble. Ignatieff should count himself lucky that the NDP and BQ decided to prop up the Tories. Realistically, the Liberals were propped up just as much as the Conservatives when the motion was defeated.Jason Small can be reached at 691-1255.