Ottawa

Meet the new Liberal party

The anonymous agonizing over the party’s leadership starts here.

“I’m still uncomfortable with what he schemed,” one Liberal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said … If Rae stayed on it would be divisive for the party, one senior Liberal told HuffPost. “It creates division, it creates a lack of trust, a credibility problem with this renewal, it creates cynicism, ‘there we go ahead, the same old, same old, backroom, stuff’… It’s not helpful,” he said … 

The Liberal Party has gotten itself into jams by spending too much time trying to screw each other over during leadership bids, another caucus member said. “(Rae’s) already lost the leadership twice … We shouldn’t try to use technical rules to block him,” the Liberal said … “If Bob decides the conditions are there and he’s has a clear shot at winning, he’ll still have to explain to party members his change of heart.” “Rae might dissuade marginal candidates, but he might also coalesce people who want someone else,” another Liberal said, adding, “Bob is a pretty controversial figure.”

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