With a hat tip to Bourque, check out this shocking behind-the-scenes view of Stephane Dion's style of leadership from Angelo Persichilli of The Hill Times.

Stephane Dion has been compartmentalized and isolated, and has become disconnected from the Liberal Party he purportedly leads:

One Liberal strategist who once supported Dion told The Hill Times last week that Dion “is alone. He is a person who hears you, but doesn’t listen.” The former supporter says that a conversation with Dion is “like being in a restaurant talking to the person sitting in front of you who, instead of listening to you, looks continuously to the guest seating in another table or at the clouds outside.” Another Liberal strategist, again who did not want to be identified and who never supported Dion, told The Hill Times that “even his close friends are fed up and have left him alone.”

So who does Stephane Dion listen to?

Another Liberal MP, who did not want to go public either, said that Dion “pays attention only to his wife and his dog Kyoto,” and completely disregards advice from the people working with him “and the results are those we see every day at Question Period.”

Kyoto the husky? I didn't know he was in Shadow cabinet.

So what are Liberals doing about this? Praying for an election and a loss:

Unfortunately, said the strategist, “Dion doesn’t listen because he believes he knows everything, just like a professor talking to his students.” So where does the party go from here, I asked to the strategist who has never supported Dion: “We know that nothing is going to happen before an election. We can’t do anything to stop him leading this party in the next election. We only hope that we are going to vote pretty soon.” Talking on background with The Hill Times many Liberals admit that the chances to form the next government are very slim considering the political environment.

“The only question,” said one Liberal MP, “is the degree of the defeat. We hope it’s going to be like 1988 but many fear that we could go through another 1984 debacle, if not worse.” In 1984, the Liberals won 40 seats and in 1988, they won 80 seats.

Suddenly, the rumour that the Liberals are gunning for an election in February takes on an entirely different complexion:

Stephane Dion's federal Liberals are constructing an election scenario in which they would try to defeat the government in February, before the Conservatives can deliver another budget, according to party strategists, officials and MPs.

The opposition party is feeling more bullish since the Mulroney-Schreiber affair set the Tories on the defensive, but is concerned it will suffer damage if it continues to abstain on confidence votes in the House of Commons - and wants to prevent the Conservatives from delivering a feel-good election budget.

With the budget - usually delivered in late February or March - likely to become a confidence showdown, the Liberals are planning a pre-emptive strike, several Liberals familiar with the strategy told The Globe and Mail.

That means the new year could see a role reversal in the election posturing in the Commons, with Mr. Dion pushing to defeat the government, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper trying to delay.

Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe what we're seeing is the effect of people playing to Stephane Dion's belief that as the smartest man in Ottawa, the office of prime minister is his for the taking. Eager to see Stephane Dion move his ego back to Montreal and out of public life, these people are telling him what he wants to hear -- the Schreiber thing will destroy the Conservatives, the In-and-Out Scandal has Canadians enthralled, taxpayers are eager to pay more taxes if it means supporting Stephane Dion's program to save the planet by cutting Canada's 2% contribution to greenhouse gas emissions by 0.05%, and so on and so forth.

Stephane Dion already believes all that nonsense. He's also used to having people less intelligent than him (that is, anyone with a pulse) agree with his wisdom. If what these insiders are saying is true, Stephane Dion could be the most easily manipulated federal party leader...ever!

Are the people around him -- the few that are left -- using Stephane Dion's belief in his own towering intellect to push him into an election and then out the door?

Let's hope Kyoto doesn't bark a warning. Apparently Dion would listen to that canine.

Ruff-ruff-no-election-grrr-will-lose-ruff.

What eez eet, boy? Haz Ignatieff fallen down ah well? No? Ah well. Maybee tomorrow, eh? Time to ree-write my eelection victoree speech.