The air was sombre during what many considered to be one of the saddest Liberal caucus meetings ever. In the morning, the departing MPs got together with their colleagues who survived defeat and said their goodbyes. Michael Ignatieff gave a brief farewell and disappeared into the sunlight.
While the tone of the meeting appeared to be consolatory, there was also a feeling of tension. Some Liberals, such as Carolyn Bennett, have called for the resignation of the party’s president, Alfred Apps. They believe that he should share the blame with Ignatieff for the loss of the election because he, along with the national board, didn’t implement the recommendations of the Change Commission. There is also pushback as some Liberals believe that the national board may have too much say in the leadership process. Others are defending Apps, and he says he’s not resigning.
(Also – best tweet ever about the Apps situation.)
Here’s a CBC exit interview with Liberal Mark Holland, an ally of the queer community who helped get same-sex marriage passed back in the day.
What’s that? Ten days after the election, the Conservatives are backing away from their pledge to eliminate the deficit a year early? You don’t say!
Another WikiLeaked diplomatic cable shows that Harper went to the Copenhagen summit only because Obama did. Yeah, that’s showing leadership on the climate file. It was also revealed that we were looking to copy American policy on hostage takings as our responses were being developed “on the fly.”
And Ruth Ellen “Vegas” Brosseau, accompanied by Thomas Mulcair, finally visited her riding today. She read carefully prepared statements, answered questions in passable French and apparently charmed everyone. None of which really excuses the fact that she didn’t bother to campaign.
PS: Deepest condolences to Rob Oliphant, whose father passed away yesterday.
Why you can trust Xtra
