Angry in the Great White North

Stephane Dion has a real problem on his hands. Long-time supporter and national director of the Liberal Party, Jamie Carroll, is in serious trouble over comments made during a meeting with members of the Quebec wing of the federal Liberal Party. At that meeting, Jamie Carroll was told that more Quebecers would have to be included in Stephane Dion's inner circle. Carroll responded that if hired more Quebecers, would he then have to hire more Chinese?

Robert Fragasso, the president of the federal Liberal Party in Quebec, has publicly called on Jamie Carroll to resign over the remarks.

An open challenge to Stephane Dion. It was inevitable.

Jamie Carroll could resign, and in doing so weaken Stephane Dion by denying him an important supporter at the top echelon of the Liberal Party. I am willing to bet that Stephane Dion would not have the latitude to appoint anyone he wanted as a replacement. Being forced to appoint an ally of Michael Ignatieff as a replacement, for example, would compound Dion's problems, both in terms of having a rival in such a senior position, as well as the optics of being a leader who is being led around by the nose.

Jamie Carroll could refuse to resign, and force Stephane Dion to fire him. Again, a leader who is being pushed around by others. Not something a weak leader like Stephane Dion can afford.

Or Jamie Carroll and Stephane Dion could refuse to heed Fragasso's demand. They might think the problem will go away. It won't. It'll only get worse, and could cause more Liberals to come out in the open like Fragasso.

And you know that there are more Liberals out there who want Carroll gone. Fragasso would not have made the call without consulting with Quebec Liberals first.

But here's the thing. If Stephane Dion was a strong leader, we would never have heard about Jamie Carroll's comments in the first place. It was a private Liberals-only meeting. But Liberals at that meeting were only too happy to cause trouble for Stephane Dion. And if Stephane Dion was a strong leader, other Liberals would be closing ranks, making excuses for Carroll even if they were quietly advising Dion that Carroll was a liability and had to go.

But instead, the most senior Liberal in Quebec wing of the party is telling Stephane Dion that Dion must dump one of his closest allies. And Stephane Dion remains silent, allowing events to run out of control. This guy wants to be prime minister one day?

Fragasso knows he will win this fight. He knows how much support he has in the Quebec wing. He knows how little Stephane Dion has. And I think this is all part of the game plan of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party to remove Stephane Dion as quickly as possible.

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