Ignatieff denies inner circle shake-up

"

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff makes his way up a flight of stairs on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Friday Sept.25, 2009.Adrian Wyld/TCPI/The Canadian Press



Ignatieff says high-speed rail trumps NHL

OTTAWA - Michael Ignatieff's office was in turmoil late Tuesday as the Liberal leader deflected rumours he's about to shake up his oft-criticized, relatively inexperienced inner circle.

According to some Ignatieff insiders, the leader was set to bring in Peter Donolo - a proven political communications whiz - as his new chief of staff.

Donolo, communications director to former prime minister Jean Chretien, would replace Ian Davey, one of Ignatieff's earliest and most loyal supporters, according to the insiders.

That sent the rumour mill into hyperdrive with some Liberals asserting that Ignatieff was going to "clean house."

At one point, Davey and communications director Jill Fairbrother were both reported to have resigned. Fairbrother flatly denied it but was somewhat less unequivocal about the Donolo rumour.

Nevertheless, the rumours persisted and expanded. Other heads said to be on the block included principal secretary Dan Brock.


A statement from the leader clarifying matters was expected to be issued Tuesday night. Then it was going to be issued early Wednesday.

Finally, a harried Fairbrother sent this email message late Tuesday: "Just trying to get a note out to staff. There is no news. No resignation(s). No new chief of staff."

For his part, Donolo declined to comment - which only fuelled speculation that he is in fact joining Ignatieff's team, though perhaps not as chief of staff.

The chaos underscored for some Liberals how desperately Ignatieff needs some experienced, politically savvy members in his inner circle.

Fairly or unfairly, Ignatieff's staff has been widely blamed for the Liberals' plummeting poll numbers and the leader's lack of coherent messaging as he stumbles from misstep to misstep.

In the past month, Ignatieff has been forced to backtrack on his threat to force an election at the earliest opportunity. And he's had to shake up his Quebec team after his provincial lieutenant, Denis Coderre, quit in a huff.

Coderre bitterly blamed Ignatieff's Toronto-centred inner circle for interfering in his job of recruiting candidates for the next election.

The addition of Donolo to the team wouldn't help Ignatieff shake the perception that he's too Toronto-centric.

He hails originally from Montreal but has been living in Toronto for a number of years, as a pollster for The Strategic Counsel. Before joining Chretien's team in 1992, he was an adviser to then Toronto mayor Art Eggelton.

But Donolo was widely considered one of the most effective communicators on Parliament Hill during his time with Chretien.

He is credited with helping to turn around Chretien's shaky performance during his stint as opposition leader and with helping him shed the label of "yesterday's man."

Among other things, Donolo helped persuade Chretien, then 59, to pose in a blue denim shirt for the 1993 Liberal campaign poster, which Chretien won in a landslide.

Donolo's humour and forthright, affable manner made him popular among reporters.

Davey was one of a handful of Liberals who persuaded Ignatieff, an internationally renowned academic at Harvard, to return to Canada in 2005 to run for political office. He ran Ignatieff's leadership campaign in 2006. "

Yea, let's not blame the dud in the centre of it all.

Let's keep in mind that Chretien won because the opposition was splintered and weak. Liberals however should believe this fellow has magic powers and can solve all their problems, much like their new leader has.

I just don't get it. Why would he deny this? It has been widely circulated, everyone is aware it is happening, and yet he dithers and denies. I really thought this guy was smarter than he appears? And, I'm no Liberal.

It spawned a new word for Canadian politics: DIONIAN: The act of falling below what was once thought the absolute rock bottom for Liberal Party support.



http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinio ... 18807.html