Canada PoliticsThe ‘horrible’ week that was for the Liberal Party
It's been a disastrous week for the federal Liberal brand.
After a flurry of polls showing that the Party was in the midst of a rebirth, the Liberals've spent this week shooting themselves in their collective foot.
If you missed it, here's a calendar of events:
Monday:
- Justin Trudeau wrote an op-ed column in the National Post, where he peculiarly threw his support behind the very unpopular CNOOC takeover of Nexen. If the Yahoo! Canada News comment board is any indication, the article turned a lot of people off from Trudeau-mania.
Tuesday:
- Sun News reported that Ontario Liberal MP David McGuinty — brother of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty — suggested Conservatives from Alberta don't belong in Parliament because they are "very small-p provincial individuals" who jealously guard their "fossil fuel business."
Wednesday:
- David McGuinty was forced to apologize and resign from his critic post for his comments (see Tuesday).
[ Related: MP resigns after telling Alberta Tories to 'go home' ]
- Former Liberal cabinet minister and current London, Ont., Mayor Joe Fontana was officially charged with three criminal code offenses for allegedly using federal government money to pay for his son's wedding reception in 2005. NDP MP Charlie Angus used the opportunity to take a swipe at the Liberals saying that "Canadians threw the Liberals out because they were tired of corruption."
Thursday:
- Instead of doing the 'right thing' by resigning until the charges against him are settled, Fontana remained defiant, saying that he is not going to "abandon" his post.
- A two-year-old interview with Liberal leadership candidate Justin Trudeau surfaced. In it Trudeau reportedly said that the country is in bad shape because Albertans are in power. "Canada isn't doing well right now because it's Albertans who control our community and socio-democratic agenda. It doesn't work," he said.
[ More Political Points: Elizabeth May named Parliamentarian of the Year ]
Friday:
- A scathing, yet eloquently written article by the National Post's Matt Gurney is published with the title: 'Anti-Alberta Trudeau interview reminds Canadians why the Liberals were voted out.'
"The comments by [McGuinty and Trudeau] will resonate far beyond Alberta's borders, and help to remind Canadians why it was they turfed our former natural governing party from office six years ago.
It wasn't any particular scandal or policy, but mostly because the entire party had come to embody a sense of entitlement, and the Liberals weren't even trying to hide it anymore. They clearly felt they were owed not just cushy jobs and patronage posts, but the entire country and its collective identity."
'Mama said there'd be days like this' but did she ever say there'd be weeks likes this?
I can't remember a worse seven-day period — in recent times — for a political party. It will be interesting to see the next round of polling data.
Ontario Liberal MP David McGuinty
