From dithers to decisive
Some Liberals think Trudeau is acting too rashly, without consulting
There isn’t much subtlety to the tweet: Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s head superimposed on Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong’s body, with a link to an article entitled “The basic dictatorship of Justin Trudeau.”
That Campaign Life Coalition tweet was in response to Trudeau’s edict that all future Liberal MPs must vote pro-choice on issues related to abortion.
While the tweet seems over the top, some are wondering whether Trudeau is, in fact, showing a tendency toward greater centralization of power and decision-making in his office, after promising the opposite during his leadership run last year.
Others say the Liberal leader is simply providing strong leadership for his third-place party, which many had written off as history until Trudeau took the helm.
The past few months have seen Trudeau cast all senators from his caucus. He has required future Liberal MPs to vote pro-choice on abortion. And his office has taken an active role in determining who can carry the party’s flag in next year’s federal election.
Some of these moves caught Liberals by surprise, coming with little or no discussion outside a small group of advisers, even though each move has had a significant impact on the party.
Trudeau has criticized Stephen Harper for centralizing power in the Prime Minister’s Office, and has promised to make the Liberal party more democratic.
Instead, he has faced complaints from some Liberals that his team is interfering in party nominations, while a number of commentators have accused him of unilaterally forcing his own beliefs on abortion on the party.
Earlier this month, longtime Liberal member Ryan Davey withdrew from the race to represent the party in the coming Trinity-Spadina byelection, where he was in competition with former city councillor and Trudeau recruit Adam Vaughan.
“As part of a renewed Liberal Party — one that would do politics transparently and democratically — we were promised open nominations,” he wrote at that time. “However events over the past few weeks have led me to decide that this nomination process has been a de facto appointment.”
Meanwhile, former anti-abortion Liberal MP Tom Wappel wrote in the National Post of Trudeau’s stance on abortion: “If you want to be a candidate for the Liberal party, you must think, be and vote like the leader ... Such a unilateral decree is an affront to the historical principles of liberalism.”
“I think that Trudeau has to be vigilant that this trend does not continue,” says Akaash Maharaj, former national policy chair for the federal Liberals. “If this pattern continues, then it could spell trouble for him.”
Not everyone agrees. “I would note the criticisms of Justin Trudeau not having any substance,
If you want to be a candidate for the Liberal party, you must think, be and vote like the leader.
not standing for anything, and not being decisive have vanished very quickly,” says former Liberal strategist Greg MacEachern.
Liberal deputy leader Ralph Goodale notes party members voted to make access to legal abortions party policy in January 2012. Those same members overwhelmingly supported Trudeau’s Senate move in a retroactive vote during the party’s last convention in February.
That doesn’t include the extensive discussions Trudeau has had with average Canadians as he’s criss-crossed the country, Goodale says.
Many Liberals still harbour memories of Paul Martin’s short time as prime minister, when he earned the nickname “Mr. Dithers” for endlessly consulting on issues before making a decision.
“The party hasn’t been robust in laying out its position on issues,” says Goodale. “It’s been too ambivalent or wishy-washy. And quite frankly, Mr. Trudeau’s style is quite the opposite of that.”
“Justin Trudeau was demanded by the Liberal party to do a lot of things,” MacEachern says. “And a lot of things included rescuing a party from the brink of oblivion. And if you only lead on the basis of consensus, you would have no direction.”