Will Wednesday’s shark tank, er, caucus meeting, convince the prime minister to step aside as Liberal leader?
The sharks are circling the tank.
The reality is, they all smell blood in the water. Everyone does, it seems, except the PM. The question is why. Ego? Or something else?
Or Trudeau could have other secrets to share. He tried the “spies among us” routine to sow doubt about the Conservatives last week. It does not appear to have worked. Unless Trudeau has a video of Pierre Poilievre professing his undying love for Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi, there is little to add to that conversation.
In short, nothing Trudeau can say can make voters come back, and the sooner he realizes it, the sooner he can exit with whatever dignity he has left — and let the country get back to business.
For the longer this drags on, the more damaging it is for the nation. The business of Parliament has ground to a halt. The opposition parties are off on their own missions: the Conservatives are demanding the government produce documents related to its green fund, while the Bloc Québécois is determined to push through its seniors’ pension top-up by Oct. 28 or bring down the government.
These are not the priorities of the average Canadian, who is concerned about putting food on the table and paying the rent or mortgage. They are also not Canada’s larger priorities: national security, the threat of increased American protectionism, and angst over immigration and our fraying social fabric.
Instead, they are pure political theatre, designed to weaken the Liberals. But they could also push Trudeau to prorogue Parliament and return with a throne speech next year, buying a few months before an election inevitably ensues. And buying the time to hold a quick leadership race and put a fresh face in the window, if he decides to throw in the towel.
National Post