At the Liberal leadership convention, Stephane Dion spoke to Blogging Tories reporter Tasha Kheiriddin about Gerard Kennedy’s support.
Tag: Stephane Dion
Stéphane Dion was leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from December 2006-December 2008.
Dion was elected leader of the Liberal Party after the resignation of Prime Minister Paul Martin after the Liberal election loss in 2006.
Dion’s leadership was marred by frequent gaffes and blunders and his inability to be an effective communicator. His interview with CTV’s Steve Murphy was a turning point in Liberal fortunes during the 2008 election. His hallmark Green Shift policy did not fare much better.
Ultimately, Dion’s mishandling of the 2008 coalition crisis – which saw the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois forming a potential coalition government – resulted in the end of his leadership.
Life after leadership wasn’t bad to Stephane Dion. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Trudeau government and the Canadian Ambassador to Germany.
Kennedy comments on supporting Dion
I ended up at the sparsely attended late night Kennedy hospitality event last and had a chance to meet him. This weekend Kennedy was the kingmaker as he backed Stephane Dion which essentially helped secure his victory for leadership.
Tasha asks Kennedy why he backed Dion and kind of gets an answer.
The compromise candidate
The Liberals have selected Stephane Dion as the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
The main thing that I noticed after his selection and the initial cheering, it seemed as though the energy of the room became flat. The mood seemed more of acceptance and acknowledgement rather than excitement.
A media friend remarked the same. It seemed like the mood of the convention became anti-climactic too soon.
Delegates here either hated the idea of a Rae-led Liberal Party or one led by Michael Ignatieff. Nobody hates Stephane Dion. He actually seems like a nice guy. However, as I said previously, he’s not the type of guy to lead his troops over the hill of the electoral battlefield.
The mood of delegates seems to be “Stephane Dion? Good enough.”