Angry in the Great White North

After over 40 minutes of laboured delivery, Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion finally announced to the House of Commons that despite the fact that the only thing the Liberals liked about the Throne Speech was how well Governor General Michaelle Jean delivered it, the Liberals would not be voting against it.

Since then, things have been going well for the Liberals. No disasters, and even welcome news that ex-austronaut Marc Garneau, who had very publicly announced he would not run for the Liberals after being ignored by Stephane Dion, would stand as the candidate in Westmount-Ville Marie.

Indeed, the press began reporting on a new sense of discipline emerging from within the Liberal Party:

Stephane Dion’s decision last week to run away from an election over the Harper government’s throne speech, has bought the demoralized Grits some precious time to regroup.

However brief it turns out to be — and some Liberals believe it may be as little as a few weeks — the leader is hoping to use the hard-won reprieve to get the party back in fighting form.

Among the measures planned, insiders say Dion will:

• Begin selectively unveiling platform planks, giving Canadians a better idea of what he and the Liberals stand for.
• Ensure the party is election ready through the continued shakeup of his inner circle, party brass and campaign team, and by intensified candidate recruitment.
• Make better use of unscripted, interactive forums — including daily question period in the House of Commons and townhall-style encounters with voters — to demonstrate that Dion, the sober policy wonk, also has a scrappy, feisty side.

Did the stark terror of an election pull the Liberal factions together? Could be.

But then today we have two columns that suggest otherwise.

First, Greg Weston explains that fundamentally, nothing has changed with regards to Stephane Dion's effectiveness as a communicator, and his perception as a potential leader:

Today, Gritdom is again alive with the sounds of wringing hands and gnashing teeth as the party confronts its worst leadership crisis in the nearly 20 years since Turner's last near-execution.

In the 11 months since Dion assumed the Grit crown, Liberal fortunes have gone from bad to worse on almost every front.

As Dion amply demonstrated in his painful response to this week's Conservative throne speech, the Liberals have no coherent policy platform to present to Canadian voters in the likely event of an election sometime in the near future.

The party's election war chest more aptly resembles a change-purse, grassroots campaign volunteers are running for the exits, and high-profile prospective candidates are staying away in droves.

Internally, the party organization is in disarray and increasingly demoralized over Dion's leadership -- or lack thereof -- and the party's electoral prospects.

So even if things seemed to have clamed down somewhat, the problem still remains: Stephane Dion.

And with that in mind, consider what ex-Liberal cabinet minister Sheila Copps perceives under the calm surface. More waves to capsize Stephane Dion, waves raised by a pending move by Michael Ignatieff:

There is a popular view amongst some Liberals that a quick election will provoke a disastrous Dion loss, clearing the way for Ignatieff's ascendancy. For Iggy supporters, that couldn't come too soon. That is why backers Denis Coderre and Pablo Rodriquez declined Dion's invitation to assume the dubitable role of Quebec lieutenant.

Coderre and Rodriguez both knew how damaging their refusals would be. How can a savvy political operator like Coderre launch a plea for party unity one week and deliberately sow disunity the next? Obviously, his refusal is no accident but part of a larger plan to pressure the leader. The strategy hatched in advance of the Outremont by-election loss and culminating in Liberal parliamentary crisis this week, will either provoke an election or a Dion resignation. Some Liberals, convinced Dion will not go quietly, think an early election is the only way to get rid of their hapless leader.

So bullish is the Ignatieff team that supporter and former minister Liza Frulla was practically salivating on television this week, recounting in excruciating detail the multiple blows inflicted on Dion by his own party.

She kept repeating that the situation was sad but her face looked anything but.

Still, you can't deny the last few days have been good for the Liberals. The highlight, of course, was Marc Garneau's decision to run as a Liberal after all.

I'm sure Michael Ignatieff is very pleased to see one his high-profile supporters installed as a candidate in an important Quebec riding.

Did I say "Michael Ignatieff"? I meant to say that I'm sure Stephane Dion is very pleased to see a high-profile Liberal installed as a candidate in an important Quebec riding.

Yes, that's better. I'm sure things will be going fine for the Liberals...at least until tomorrow. Maybe Tuesday, on the outside.