In desperate times, Liberals' thoughts turn to ... Martin?

If you happen to find yourself sitting with a bunch of Liberals these days, and looking for a new way to talk about the mess things are in, try this hypothetical, conversation-provoking question:

In hindsight, was it really such a good idea for Paul Martin to have resigned on election night in 2006?

It was a long-time, well-respected Liberal, not one of Martin's close circle, who first floated that to me this week. As he sees it, the Liberals might well be back in power right now, or on the way back, if Martin hadn't up and walked away when he lost government.

Here's the thinking: when Martin took over in 2003, he talked about staying for 10 years. The party was tired of internal leadership wars, no would-be successors were in the wings, and the Martinites had a stranglehold on the entire organization.

Then, abruptly, Martin was gone and so was the whole infrastructure of the party. The Liberals were not ready, in terms of money, organization or spirit, to conduct a leadership race.

But they had a contest, which further drained the party coffers, created new divisions, and all among a field of too-green candidates - most of whom could have done with a couple more years' seasoning before running to succeed Martin. Bob Rae could have got himself installed in the Commons (that's only going to happen next week), ditto for Gerard Kennedy (still no seat), while Ignatieff could have gained some more experience as an MP and Dion could have improved his English, and so on.

Had Martin stayed and presided over some of this succession planning, he may have been able to revive Liberal fortunes while making a phased, less-abrupt departure. And now, as the economy looms as a major issue, Martin could have dusted off his old credentials as the deficit-slaying finance minister and helped present the Liberals to voters as the best-positioned party to handle an economic downturn.

Of course, this is all 20-20 hindsight and there are numerous flaws in the logic, but it does get one thinking. At the very least, it may show how desperate Liberals are feeling right now.

Comments

[Jason Cherniak]

I've always thought Martin should have stuck around. The problem was that he and his team made so many enemies that he had no way to surive once he lost the power of the PMO. If you think the infighting is bad now, imagine what it would have been like with Paul Martin as leader of the opposition.

[anonymous]

I've always believed that Paul Martin got a bad rap for pushing Chretien out the door. As Finance Minister, Martin was excluded from Chretien's inner circle and wasn't able to influence how the Sponsorship program was being handled. The only choice he had to put a stop to the 'irregularities' was to replace Chretien as party leader.

[Forward Looking Canadian]

If Martin had stuck around even one more day, the media would have been out for his blood. Every pundit before the election was saying that whoever didn't win the election would have to resign. Harper, because his party would have had no confidence in him, and Martin because he had taken his party from a huge majority to minority and then to opposition.

Martin had no choice.

[Wascally Wabbit]

What a "politely" self-serving bunch of horse manure.
I'll take those musings with some beer and popcorn thank you!
Martin and Earncliffe split the party.
Many Cretien-ites - like me - are still essentially sitting on the sidelines because they are not yet convinced that the current crew (that still includes some of Martin's inner circle) can be trusted.

[bob ward]

What is your fascination with everything LIBERAL??

just askin

[Jan]

Not being a Liberal I think that Paul Martin if left on his own would have made a fairly good PM for the next few years.

[Mark-Alan Whittle]

One thing for sure, Stephane Dion will never, ever be Prime Minister of Canada because of his less than stellar leadership in the House of Commons.

No wonder the Liberal Party of Canada, and by extension, it's members now know they made a big mistake selecting Dion as their leader.

How much longer can he last with Bob Rae stabbing him from the left and Michael Ignatieff stabbing him from the right?

Like most failed leaders Dion has refused to see the forest for the trees and is too afraid of his own shadow to call the Conservatives to account by bringing them down and forcing an election.

Dion seems more like a dead man walking than the next prime minister.

[Jason Cherniak]

I see the Conservative talking points have made it over here...

[Django]

Mark-Alan Whittle! a dead man walking... the forest for the trees... afraid of his own shadow. I see you have been reading that Dictionary of Idioms I got you for your birthday. To think that i was worried that you might not of like it!

anyways... Susan Delacourt that is the zaniest post I read all day. So crazy, maybe you might be right.