1-04-06, 9:05 am
The Liberal Party leadership race which wrapped up on Dec. 2 in Montreal had all the elements of dramatic horse race, culminating in a delegate vote which saw Stephane Dion emerge from the pack to catch Michael Ignatieff at the fourth-round wire.
Of course, all eight contenders on the first round ballot were representatives of the Canadian ruling class. Anyone expecting fundamental changes in the political and economic life of the country to result from this contest would be naive. But many observers kept a close eye on their TV sets and computer monitors, hoping that the Liberals would elect a leader who might challenge the far-right policies of the current Conservative prime minister.
In the end, three top contenders slugged it out for the crown of Canada's so-called 'natural ruling party,' which has governed for most of the past century.
For most activists involved in struggles against war and to defend Canadian sovereignty, the nightmare scenario was a victory for Michael Ignatieff. During his thirty years as a professor in Britain and the USA, Ignatieff built a reputation as an advocate of closer links and deeper integration with the United States. He was among those 'intellectuals' who cheered on the illegal U.S.-led aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq, using his access to the pages of the New York Times and other leading corporate publications to justify war and torture in the name of spreading 'western democracy' and human rights. Ignatieff is also a strong supporter of Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people. His election as Liberal leader would have kept Canada among the few countries led by enthusiastic allies of the increasingly isolated George W. Bush.
In second place was ex-New Democrat Bob Rae, returning to his family's traditional place within the Liberal elite. Rae was the Ontario premier who squandered a golden opportunity during the early 1990s to implement some lasting progressive reforms. Instead, faced with a difficult economic downturn, Rae chose the corporate path of making working people pay for the crisis of capitalism. His infamous 'Rae Days' cut wage levels and attacked the living standards and collective bargaining rights of Ontario workers. This set the stage for the 1995 election of Conservative Mike Harris, whose 'Common Sense Revolution' cut like a buzz saw through decades of hard-won economic and political gains.
The Liberal 'big tent' is always open to defecting right-wing NDPers, like Rae and former BC premier Ujjal Dosanjh. But while their policies are not so different from those of the Liberals, such turncoats are rarely allowed to rise to the top.
And then there was Stephane Dion, sitting in third place after the first ballot. Lured into politics after the 1995 Quebec referendum which came within a whisker of majority support for sovereignty, Dion was Chretien's federalist fixer, the man behind the Clarity Act which threatens military action to block any meaningful exercise of Quebec's national right to self-determination. Often bitterly opposed within Quebec, Dion was said by the media and even by many Liberals to be virtually unelectable.
In the end, it appears that both Ignatieff (the bootlicker for Dubya) and Rae (the latecomer) came with too much baggage. As the second choice of delegates wary of public opposition to the pro-US positions of Ignatieff (and PM Harper), Dion easily won the final ballot.
His campaign (headed up by Vancouver's Mark Morrisen, a Campbell Liberal operative with a nasty political reputation), focused on a 'economic vitality,' action to save the environment, and a relatively progressive social agenda.
Some opponents of the Tories have openly welcomed Dion as a potential saviour from the agenda of the far right.
But will his rhetoric become reality? Certainly he has hitched his star to broad themes which contrast to Stephen Harper's narrower reach to very conservative-minded voters. By raising women's equality and same-sex marriage rights in his first question period as Liberal leader, Dion emphasised defense of equality rights, not turning back the clock.
On the environment, his credibility is undermined by the fact that greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise sharply during his time as Chretien's environment minister. There are also nagging questions about whether Dion's proposals to meet Canada's Kyoto obligations will really do much to reduce emissions.
Peace activists are hopeful that since Dion hails from Quebec, where the war in Afghanistan is deeply unpopular, there may be better chances to press him to pull out Canadian troops. But despite his sharp criticisms of Bush, Dion has leaned toward 'redefining the mission' rather than withdrawing from Afghanistan. This position has the appearance of peace-keeping, but in fact would continue the war at lower volume.
Finally, the new Liberal leader talks about widening Canada's global trade patterns, without mentioning the ongoing loss of manufacturing jobs. He has no intention to abrogate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which locks Canada into the orbit of the U.S. economy and imposes strict rules against economic policies such as job creation which would expand Canadian sovereignty and favour the interests of working people.
In short, Stephane Dion is certainly preferable to Stephen Harper on some important social issues, and he may be more open to public pressures on the environment and the war in Afghanistan. The post-convention polls now put the Liberals in the lead over the Conservatives. But given the Liberal history of 'campaign from the left and govern from the right,' the labour, social justice, and peace and environmental movements will have to keep up the pressure if Dion takes office.
More fundamentally, there is no indication that a new Liberal government would change course on the basic economic policies dictated by the corporate interests which dominate Canada. To win such fundamental change, Canadian workers will have to turn in larger numbers towards the policies outlined in the 'People's Alternative' platform advanced by the Communist Party (see for details).
From People's Voice
