Amid all those theatres and dramas of Liberal politicking, I actually found, on page 289, a couple of obscure references to the single most important issue facing Liberal Party today: Where is the soul of the party?
On the soul that was infected, nobody articulated it better than Akaash Maharaj: "The party itself, in our elected wing and in our civil wing, must exercise meaningful political leadership to quash what I feel has been a disease galloping through our ranks for the better part of a political generation - and that is a fundamentally illiberal impulse to equate dissent with disloyalty. I believe ... meaningful dissent is not merely the right of every person; it is the responsibility of every thinking person to expect that. A system that does not recognize that truth is simply today a system which will inevitably and rightfully collapse in on itself. Our loyalty as Liberals is to one another, but our loyalty as Liberals is first and foremost to the ideals that we represent."
On the need to fix the soul, Tom Axworthy was more blunt: "Liberalism in Canada is at such a divide today: the philosophy still has resonance but its application to today's problems and opportunities needs a fundamental rethinking."
Those assessments were made in September 2002 when Chretien was the king and Martin was the king-apparent. -- I guess it would be up to the next generation of Liberals to embark on the journey of soul-searching.
No wonder the Conservatives have so much room to grow.
