But Will They Start Making Foreign Wars?

      Wow. The Canadian political scene really is beginning to look like a revision of Richard II. Paul 'Bolingbroke' Martin is now making sure that not only is Jean 'Richard' Chretien is out of office, but he will do everything he can to discredit his predecessor completely, in large part, it seems, to defend himself. We now know, though, who Bushy, Bagot, and Green will be in this nasty reenactment: Gagliano, Ouellet, and Pelletier. Jeffrey Simpson's column in today's Globe seems to me right on the money: what began as a usurpation and reconsolidation of power under a new regime has threatened to burgeon into all-out political civil war within the Liberal Party. For the record, Simpson is right: Chretien won't stay silent on this; and it wouldn't surprise me if JC has a political move up his sleeve that could be the right-bower to everyone else's trump. See also this piece from John Ibbitson, someone I of whom I seldom think much, but who seems here to be on the right track. Regardless, this blog imagines that Paul Martin, Sr., Pierre Trudeau, and Lester Pearson are now rolling over in their respective graves.

      The big winner to be in all this? Jack Layton, for the moment. The new Conservatives are still a mess and leaderless. As much as Martin tries to position himself as the 'I didn't do it' boy, no one it seems is willing to believe him completely, and so he's taking a pretty severe hit to his credibility, despite calling an inquiry. There's nothing for the Bloc to gain from all this, at least not that I can see. If the Conservatives can get their act together (not likely at this point), they might be able to gain from this. Layton's the only one in place, and he's the only one who has been emphasizing Liberal corruption (particularly in relation to Mr. Martin, and the CSL fiasco). He's the only who seems to be gaining anything in all this. As much as I don't particularly like any of the political alternatives at this point, I think the Liberals need to learn a lesson in humility. And decorum. Surrender them all to the electorate and let God sort them out. ;-)

      Ironic, though, isn't it? What not too long ago seemed like a transfer of power from one wing of the party to another, with one's victory and another's concession, has become one of the, if not the, meanest, ugliest, most protracted political battles in Canadian history, rife with sore winners and spiteful losers. Mr. Martin, we were told, was supposed to be the uniter and not the divider. Hmmm. Reminds me of someone else who made that promise, too...

Addendum: I don't particularly like that the only two articles I'm citing here are from The Globe, but it seems the more tempered source than those in other major outlets. The Toronto Star, a longtime mouthpiece for the Liberal party, is desperately trying to minimze the damage. The National Post is not to be trusted, either, with its longtime desire to attack the government on anything it says or does (as is the case with the Sun). The Globe stands curiously in the position of reason. Strange, eh? Eh? EH? Welcome to Politics Night In Canada. And it's a MASSIVE body-check to Chretien in the corner! And he's down on the ground! And the ref is NOT calling a penalty! Oh, look at the anger in Chretien's eyes! He's moving, he's moving... Stay tuned.