Out with the old...

Well, the Grits made it official today. Stéphane Dion is toast. Burnt by his own desperation, by his own blood lust for power. A lust that consumed him so much that it drove him into an unholy alliance with the socialist NDP and the separatist Bloc Quebecois.

Stéphane, what the hell were you thinking?

Were you that desperate to not go down in history as the only federal Liberal leader ever to not go on to become Prime Minister? Did you care not for the future of your own Liberal Party? Apparently not, because the damage done will surely outlast your own presence on the political stage. Canadians will not soon forget that it was the Liberal Party that tried to seize power just weeks after being soundly rejected by the voters. And we will not forget your willingness to get into bed with the socialists and the separatists to do it. It will take some time for your Party to shake the image of these ugly shenanigans in which you partook.

And then there's the irony of the anointment of your replacement, the new Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, by what is essentially a coup d'etat within the Liberal Party. Many Liberals will remain unsatisfied with the way in which Iggy ascended to the throne, bypassing the traditional vote at a convention. But what else should we expect from a Party that was willing to oust a democratically elected government just 6 weeks into it's mandate?

It remains to be seen where Michael Ignatieff will take the Liberals. The word is that Iggy was luke warm to the ill advised coalition of the 3 stooges. He was said to be the last Liberal MP to sign the agreement. But the important thing is he did sign it. Don't expect to see Iggy distance himself from the coalition agreement right away. Looks like he wants to keep that one in his back pocket for now. A good bargaining chip against the Prime Minister, he thinks.

But it's a risky strategy. The coalition was very unpopular with Canadians. A change in leadership won't make it any more palatable. But for now, Mr. Ignatieff seems content to keep it alive. That is his first mistake as the new leader. Bad judgement there Iggy. Better drop it faster than a shifty green carbon tax.

Expect Ignatieff to move the party back towards the political center. It's a place where the Liberals have traditionally been successful. Their drift in recent years to the left has coincided with their worst electoral results in memory. No coincidence there. Some of the lefties like Bob Rae who were attracted to the Liberals of late will find themselves out of step with the new leader and will drift away, back to the NDP where they belong.

PS: with the departure of Stéphane Dion, you can expect to see some changes around here. Just a bit of redecorating, some new curtains, etc. The Stéphane Dion is not a leader banner will be the first thing to go.