Ignatieff’s lesson in leadership (1)
Just as Stephen Harper was forever diminished by last November’s parliamentary crisis, so Michael Ignatieff has been permanently damaged by his waffling performance this week.
On Monday, Ignatieff defined himself as the weakest Liberal leader since, well, since Stéphane Dion. His laying out of four conditions for supporting tomorrow’s supply motion was a disaster in every respect. It was easily the worst moment of his leadership, demonstrating that neither he nor the Liberals are ready to govern.
The Conservatives have been spending a lot of time and money on attack ads that try to define Ignatieff as a stranger in his own land. The Liberal leader drove that message home.
And the worst part was that he made the situation all about himself. In his news conference, he used the first-person pronoun more than 100 times. In a subsequent five-minute interview with Peter Mansbridge on The National, he said “I” 30 times, and threw in a couple more “I’ve”s along with six “me”s for good measure. There were five “I”s in one sentence in his answer to Mansbridge’s final question.
(“It’s not as if he hasn’t been told [to frame the debate as being much larger than simply me vs. Harper],” sighed one senior Liberal member of Ottawa’s permanent political class.)
“I don’t want an election, Canadians don’t want an election,” Ignatieff declared Monday. And then he said he would force one unless Harper met his four conditions on Employment Insurance reform, expediting infrastructure funding, capping the deficit and guaranteeing a sufficient supply of isotopes for cancer patients. Parliament, he said, could even sit into next week to debate the EI threshold.
Then, he practically implored Harper to take him off the hook.
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John Luft Says:
Here is a transcript from the meeting between Harper and Ignatieff:
Ignatieff:
Hey Steve….you have to help me out. I shot my mouth off again trying to look all tough and prime ministerial but now I’m kinda stuck. I have no ideas, no options. Can you help me?
Harper:
How? Like what do you need?
Ignatieff:
Well, just let me sit in here for a while and we can pretend that we are having serious discussions. I’ll just be here for a little while and then I can go out and pretend that things have been resolved. I’d sure appreciate it. I’m not quite ready to move back to the US. I’m still waiting to see the bottom of the US housing market before I buy.
Harper:
OK. But just sit there quietly and don’t touch anything.
(an hour goes by)
Harper:
OK, Ignatieff……get the hell out of my office.
Ignatieff:
Thanks, Steve. I appreciate your help.
Harper:
Don’t mention it. Have a good summer.
Posted on June 18th, 2009 at 10:25 am
fernstalbert Says:
When they do the mockumentary, I recommend John Luft as the script writer. Cheers.
Posted on June 18th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Brian S Says:
I still have no idea what liberals see in Ignatieff. Did I miss something or does he even have any policies yet?
Posted on June 18th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
UV Says:
Iggy’s only policy is that ‘we’re not the Conservatives.’
Posted on June 18th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
beentheredonethat Says:
How about ‘we’re the natural governing party’ nothing more need be said policy?
Posted on June 18th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
ward Says:
I fail to see how Harper was diminished by last years Parliamentary “crisis”. The sedition coalition hatched thier plan long before the last election. Their coup attempt was planned and in the can.
Canadians responded resoundingly against the opposition by anti coalition demonstrations accross the country. Polls swung wildly in favor of the Conservatives and in support of Harper.
Posted on June 18th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Mac Says:
I’m pretty sure Count Iggy gave a speech or two about how Liberals made Canada great. Not great enough that the Igg-ster wanted to stick around or anything like that but great enough that he would give up a gig at Harvard for a chance to run the place. While that might not count as “policy” per se, I’m sure Canadians will understand.
Posted on June 18th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
beentheredonethat Says:
You can bet that Iggy has got his U.S. Green Card stored right alongside his Canadian passport.
Posted on June 19th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Anna Keightley Says:
this piece needs to be resurrected today because it’s too obvious with wafergate, slagging clinched bi-lateral trade deals of yesterday, Ignatieff’s not losing any sleep over Canada’s recovery initiatives. Canadians can take express note of who’s doing the heavy lifting achieving a substantial record toward economic recoveries, sector by sector. Today, he’s literally “gone fishing” and/or bird-watching. Facial expressions/body language tell Canadians’ the storyof the real interested parties. Harper and Flaherty and attendant cabinet are due lauding for the economic deals we’ll benefit from in the not too distant future. This is now about recognizing “the quitters” vs. “the doers.”
Posted on August 12th, 2009 at 11:12 am