Pity the federal Liberal caucus in Ottawa these days.
The must feel like the crew of the doomed Titanic, trapped on board and speeding toward the iceberg under the command of Captain Edward Smith – who would eventually drown along with 1,500 others in that infamous maritime disaster.
Alternatively, they must feel like the crew of the Pequod, taking orders from Captain Ahab.
Ahab was obsessed with killing Moby Dick, aka the Great White Whale, which ended in disaster for every member of the crew of the Pequod except one, Ishmael, who lived to tell the tale.
That’s similar to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s obsession with defeating Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the next federal election, which could come at any time.
Poilievre is currently living rent-free in Trudeau’s head – more like a mansion, really, given how the PM constantly cites defeating Poilievre as his main reason for staying on as PM.
I was reminded of these two famous/infamous captains – the first a real person, the second a character in Herman Melville’s magnificent work of fiction Moby Dick.
This while listening to Trudeau give his account last week of his national caucus meeting with Liberal MPs in Ottawa, many disgruntled with his leadership and some urging him to resign, given that they believe his unpopularity with the public is dragging down Liberal support across the country.
This drama has been playing out in public for months and in particular ever since June 24, when the Liberals suffered a shocking byelection defeat to the Conservatives in the previous Liberal stronghold of Toronto-St Paul’s riding.
Their angst only increased when the Liberals suffered a second devastating byelection loss on Sept. 16 – this one in what had previously been another Liberal stronghold in Montreal’s LaSalle-Emard-Verdun riding, to the Bloc Quebecois.
But according to Trudeau, following the national caucus meeting, the Liberals have magically emerged “strong and united,” that under him and previous leaders “the Liberal party has always had robust discussions about the best way to tackle the issues that are facing Canadians” and “we’re going to continue to have great discussions about how I can best lead the Liberal party forward …”
Warming to his theme, Trudeau said the Liberals are “open” to new ideas and, “we talk amongst ourselves. We share our perspectives.”
Seriously, you have to wonder if Trudeau is becoming divorced from reality given statements like these.
In fact, the central complaint of the Liberal dissidents is that Trudeau and his inner circle of advisors haven’t been interested in having “robust discussions” about the future direction of the the Liberal party.
This despite the fact Trudeau and his party are currently underwater in public support and, if nothing changes, heading for a massive defeat in an election that could come at any time.
Immediately following their shock byelection loss in Toronto-St. Paul’s, many Liberals were urging an emergency national caucus meeting to consider new policies, a cabinet shuffle and/or replacing Trudeau’s key advisors, short of ousting Trudeau as party leader, given that many MPs believe they will lose their seats in the next election if he’s still in charge of the party.
While Trudeau said at the time he was having important discussions with individuals and groups of Liberals about the way forward, Liberal national caucus chair Brenda Shanahan shut down any possibility of a full caucus meeting over the summer in early July.
She said it would be “impossible” due to “scheduling logistics,” which suggests another problem the Liberals have – they seem incapable of organizing a two-car funeral, which helps explain why events keep overtaking them on issues for which they are responsible.
Liberal MP Wayne Long, who is not running again and has called for Trudeau to resign, said in an interview with CTV’s Question Period following last week’s national caucus meeting that he was “shocked” Trudeau took just 18 hours to announce he wasn’t resigning after telling MPs he would consider it seriously during the national caucus meeting.
He urged Trudeau to stop listening to his inner circle of advisors, and give more weight to backbench Conservative MPs.
To be fair, Trudeau has consistently said – at least in public – that he is staying on as prime minister and will lead the Liberals whenever the next federal election is called.