Assorted Thoughts

[bitterwind]

So ... that election was a waste of time. A few small tweaks and drifts to the popular vote and the seat totals, but no real changes

Comments

[lynedd]

I wonder how paranoid Dion is feeling right now. The Liberal constitution requires a leadership review after every election, win or lose, but it's got to feel like an attack on some levels.

...and Trudeau, despite being dropped into a riding that he was predicted to lose, has gained a seat in parliament. There's a young man with a lot of baggage to bring to the table; I'm sure most of his party is holding their breath, waiting to see if he has inherited his father's political acumen.

[bitterwind]

I think that our young Trudeau is smart enough to realize that he needs to prove himself in politics even more than his father did to earn the opportunities which are going to come his way in the years to come.

The Liberals in a very hard place right now - they face a leadership review, a leadership convention and potentially another election all in quick succession, all of which are expensive events.

[lynedd]

...and Dion's speech surely doesn't sound like someone who will step down gracefully as his predecessor did.

[bitterwind]

I think that he needs to rally as much of a victory as possible tonight. If he sounds tonight like he's on the way out, the story of the election tomorrow morning would be the implosion of the Liberals. I think in this environment he needs to give the election dust time to settle, but I just can't imagine that he can justify to himself staying after losing a quarter of their seats on his agenda. It's just a matter of stepping down with dignity.