Garth Turner shows off his perceptiveness, a key skill in a leader and a people-person, by delivering this insightful analysis of Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion based on his own experience, contrasted with what he heard about Prime Minister Stephen Harper:
I also admired Dion, sitting there listening, taking notes, patiently soaking in what 22 speakers had to say last Wednesday morning alone. It was what I would have expected from a leader at the head of a national caucus, full of experienced MPs from all over a vast country with 100 different points of view and millions of constituents to represent. It was the role of a leader to listen to Canadians, distill the best path forward, establish a consensus and then defend that position.
And the contrast with my months in the Harper caucus was extreme. Old friends there tell me that no discussion was allowed on the anti-terrorism bill. The PMO determined what the government’s position would be, and then MPs were told how to vote and what to say. Their offices were issued with talking points that called Dion a weak leader.
Maybe Stephane Dion looks consultative from the back of the caucus room where Garth Turner is required to sit. I call that special place Garthiopia, where things don't necessarily look the same as they do elsewhere, It might have to do with the thin air way back there. But here is an opinion of people who actually talked to Stephane Dion. These people are not inhabitants of Garthiopia, and it shows:
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion held a conference call with his six Nova Scotia MPs the night before announcing his non-compete agreement with Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
The MPs, thinking they were being consulted, weighed in with their views, none of them favourable.
But they didn't get the sense Mr. Dion was listening to them. When one MP said “I thought this was a consultation?” the leader simply replied that he was going ahead with it. In fact, the news conference had already been scheduled for the next morning, April 13.
In the nearly five months since the convention the complaints have grown to include a lack of consultation with MPs, not enough emphasis on party renewal and dissatisfaction with research and travel staff in the Opposition Leader's Office.
As Mr. Dion continues to struggle in the public opinion polls, there are also concerns that his closest advisers are all members of the Paul Martin team that reduced the Liberal Party to minority status in 2004 and then lost everything in 2006.
“The MPs have zero input,” said one MP, who did not support Mr. Dion for the leadership.
“They get called for their input and then their opinion gets not listened to. And that's really frustrating for MPs. But it's not a surprise because Dion had zero caucus support, very little caucus support.”
Well, very little caucus support is not the same as zero caucus support. Apparently Garth Turner thinks Stephane Dion is the bees-knees. I bet that makes Stephane Dion so very happy, knowing he's got the Garthiopia vote all tied up. Too bad it has a population of one.
