Michael Higgins: Liberal caucus submits to Carney as it did to Trudeau
Contrary to what many in the West believe, some countries dislike democracy, preferring the strongman, the firm ruler, the dictator.
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So it is with the Liberals who have shunned accountability and democracy in favour of the autocratic leader.
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Considering the problems the Liberals had with the last guy, it must be the case that some turkeys really do vote for Christmas.
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On Sunday, a majority of the Liberal caucus voted down a motion to adopt the rules set out in the Reform Act, a decade old law to give MPs more power.
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One of the central planks of the Reform Act would give caucus members the right to trigger a review of the party leader.
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The private bill sponsored by Conservative Michael Chong passed its third reading in the House in 2014 with an impressive 260 votes for with only 17 against.
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At the time, Chong said, 'I don't expect that all the rules will be adopted all at once, but in the long run, party caucuses will democratize themselves and empower themselves.'
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After each federal election, parties vote on whether to adopt Reform Act rules or not.
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The Liberals, despite overwhelmingly voting in favour of the act, have always chosen not to adopt it.
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But the failure not to vote for it this time is baffling.
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Former Liberal leader Justin Trudeau refused to relinquish power and attempts to get him to go bordered on the farcical.
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During a caucus meeting last October, a letter from MPs was read to Trudeau urging him to step aside. The letter was signed by two dozen Liberal MPs, but such is the fear ingrained in MPs that the letter presented to Trudeau at the caucus meeting did not contain any names.
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Trudeau responded defiantly within 24 hours saying that he would be leading the Liberals into the next election.
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Many Liberal MPs critical of Trudeau preferred to remain anonymous with New Brunswick MP Wayne Long being one of the few who was open and vocal.
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The calls within the party for Trudeau to go kept getting louder and yet the prime minister held on to power tenaciously, gripping it with his fingernails as events tried to prise him from it. By December, a majority of his caucus was demanding he resign; then Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland quit cabinet and with a twist of the knife accused Trudeau of 'political gimmicks,' and perhaps most damning was the lack of public support, the approval rating for Trudeau was at an all-time low and support for the Liberals stood at a mere 16 per cent.
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In the face of all this, Trudeau went skiing and it wasn't until January that he bowed to the inevitable.
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