If you're a Conservative supporter, you would do well to note the Liberal distress, however, because their woes offer some key lessons. Most notably, there are few people obviously capable of assuming the helm when Harper leaves, as he soon must, for his end is coming soon.
Peter MacKay's inconsistent answers regarding torture of prisoners in Afghanistan, along with a wishy-washy vision of the mission there (as related in Monday's Herald) suggests he is not the star-in-waiting some would like him to be.
The problem with national politics is that none of the major parties have, in the last 25 years, effectively replaced solid leadership. The NDP languished in greater-than-normal irrelevance for a decade and a half because after Broadbent stepped down, it chose the spectacularly insignificant Audrey McLaughlin instead of the obviously more qualified Dave Barrett. The Liberals have been in a nose-dive since Jean Chrétien left a ticking timebomb for Paul Martin, who held power just long enough to eviscerate Sheila Copps, thus ensuring nobody was left to rebuild the party. The Tory regime, meanwhile, went through its leadership crisis, when the rank and file gave Preston Manning's Reform Party to Stockwell Day and his wetsuit. Further back in the history of Canada's right wing, we have Kim Campbell assuming the helm of Brian Mulroney's waterlogged shipwreck.
Michael Ignatieff and Stephen Harper may be the current kings of their respective castles, but the average citizen is not well served by either: that's what the polls suggest, anyhow. Further, neither party shows any sign of shifting to a more capable, more popular leader - because no apparent alternatives exist.
So here we are, one year after the minority Conservatives almost lost control of the country, and no party seems remotely capable of assuming a majority.
In other words, not much has changed.
