Dion has his hands full
CARSON JEREMA STAFF
Managing egos, not people: that is the job that lies ahead for Stéphane Dion as he settles into his role as leader of the opposition Liberals.
As the saturated coverage of a leadership race that lasted about four or five months too long ended, a telling shot was broadcast. One side stood all the other candidates next to Dion. In the back stood Jean Chrétien, Bill Graham, Paul Martin and John Turner. It wasn’t something spectacular to have the old leaders stand apart from Dion, but many of the recent leadership candidates, if not new to politics, were new to the party. The glimpse almost signified a changing of the guard, a final deathblow to the infighting that, whether between Turner and Chrétien or between Martin and Chrétien, has monopolized the party internally since at least the early 1980s. Or so one would hope.
National Post columnist Andrew Coyne argued on the CBC that a Dion victory would mean embarrassment for the party establishment that couldn’t decide on one candidate, being split between Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae. Dion’s campaign was not as flashy as the two front-runners, but they were so politically flawed that Dion was the obvious second choice for many delegates. His reputation as a stalwart and loyal MP who has made his name as one who makes arguments based on logic as opposed to ideology certainly aided in his ability to secure an alliance with Gerard Kennedy. So while Dion was eventually the consensus candidate, he was never the first choice of power-brokers within the party. His initial support in the caucus however solid, appears limited.
Dion will have to massage bruised egos, a point he acknowledged when in his acceptance speech he declared that he has the “dream team” behind him, and emphasized how much he needs the talents of his former leadership opponents. It would be a gross overstatement to suggest that there is a rift between Dion and any of the others the same way there was between Chrétien and Martin. In the latter case there were two clearly divided camps, and Martin’s second bid for the leadership began almost immediately after he lost the first. Nothing of the sort appears to be coming in the months ahead.
Still, other candidates, especially Rae and Ignatieff, enjoyed tremendous support going into the leadership convention, and they illustrated a knack for getting a new generation of Liberals interested in party politics. When Dion forms a shadow cabinet or a government one (if he is so lucky) it is expected that most of the former leadership hopefuls will find themselves a spot of prominence. I won’t speculate on who will go where, except to say that Kennedy is a shoe-in for deputy leader (perhaps finance).
If Dion is a successful leader, that is, if he wins an election or keeps the Tories to minority, he could be the leader for at least the next 10 years. If he is unsuccessful in the eyes of the party or whoever happens to end up the leaderin- waiting, there could be pressure on him to leave. In the meantime, Dion will have to keep everyone at least satisfied, if not happy, if he wants to exploit their popularity and personal political talents. Not to mention maintaining a caucus that is cohesive and focused on keeping the Tories accountable.
Anyone who has ever been “the boss” knows that inevitably there will be those who think they can do the job better, who think they deserved the promotion and who, if they are not effectively placated, will cause a rift. That Ignatieff and Rae were recruited specifically to lead the party, and that the two are already pushing 60, could be portentous. Never mind the several would-be candidates that opted not to run in this race.
I might be over-analyzing, but Dion appears to have his hands full.
