[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[crazy canuck]

More internal strife with the Liberals.  This time at the highest levels.  And funny the PMO is thinking a recruiting Carney - he is apparently unknown to Canadians.

There is always a healthy tension between Finance and a PMO, but the finger-pointing comes after the Liberals lost the safe Toronto riding of St. Paul's in a by-election last month that was contested by Ms. Freeland's former chief of staff Leslie Church. The loss prompted strong criticism from some Liberals for the prime minister to reconsider his future, shake up his cabinet and set a new policy direction for the government.

Although there are no indications the Prime Minister is planning imminently to shuffle Ms. Freeland to another portfolio, a government source said there were discussions internally about the possibility of recruiting former Bank of Canada Gov. Mark Carney as finance minister.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-pmo-officials-worry-freelands-economic-messaging-has-been-ineffective/

[Grey Fox]

Who?

[HVC]

Who?

Think he was a Beatle

[Valmy]

In other news, Conrad Black, after fighting so hard to get his peerage from the UK House of Lords has lost it.
Reason: he did not attend often enough.

Conrad Black, who battled Chrétien over British peerage, removed from U.K. House of Lords

Chrétien must be dancing today.

He gets to keep his peerage though, he just lost his seat in the House of Lords.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah, sad to see Lord Prescott (former deputy Labour leader and PM, most famous for punching a voter on the campaign trail ) on that list. He's apparently very ill so basically never attending

[crazy canuck]

Who?

Think he was a Beatle

Who's on first

[crazy canuck]

This story is moving quickly and it looks like the Liberals are about to go into full civil war mode

More reporting from the Globe

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has been trying for years to recruit former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to the federal cabinet but stopped short of saying he would like him to replace Chrystia Freeland as finance minister.

The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office are concerned about Ms. Freeland's effectiveness in selling the government's economic message and discussed at one point the possibility of reaching out to Mr. Carney to serve as finance minister.

"I have been talking with Mark Carney for years now about getting him to join federal politics," Mr. Trudeau told reporters in Washington when asked if he had personally reached out to the former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England. "He would be an outstanding addition at a time Canadians need good people to step up on politics."

Mr. Trudeau did not say whether he wanted Ms. Freeland, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, to remain as finance minister as the Liberal government tries to reconnect with Canadian voters amid low opinion polls.

"In regards to Chrystia, she has been a close friend and ally and partner in doing really big things for Canada," he said. "I have full confidence in her abilities and the work we have been doing together."

The Globe reported that officials in the Prime Minister's Office had talked about a scenario to bring Mr. Carney on board in the top finance portfolio and move Ms. Freeland to foreign affairs, the post she held before she was promoted to finance in August, 2020, after the resignation of Bill Morneau.

Mr. Morneau resigned in the summer of 2020 after a series of stories reported by The Globe indicated Mr. Trudeau wanted him out. The comparison between Mr. Morneau's treatment and Ms. Freeland's was frequently pointed out among Liberals and political analysts on Thursday.

"What we are seeing is unfortunately all too familiar to those of us who worked with Minister Morneau in 2020," said his former deputy chief of staff and director of operations Sharan Kaur.

She said what's different this time is where the differences are. In 2020, Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Morneau disagreed on spending levels and economic management, while this time it's about whether the current Finance Minister is communicating Ottawa's economic messaging effectively.

"This style of politics is extremely unprofessional," Ms. Kaur told The Globe. "The real issue at hand is that the PM's personal popularity is at an all-time low."

"Any political strategist can tell you how to change the channel in this kind of situation. If you're not going to change the person at the top, then the next most fundamental change is rethinking the Prime Minister's Office from top to bottom."

[Grey Fox]

Ahhh, I hear the sweet sound of independence.

[crazy canuck]

Ahhh, I hear the sweet sound of independence.

Do you think the Conservatives will grant that?

[viper37]

This story is moving quickly and it looks like the Liberals are about to go into full civil war mode

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?

Sure, why not? Bring him onboard so he can be part of the debacle and discredit him as the next leader. Classic Trudeau/Liberal move.

[crazy canuck]

The other remarkable thing is Trudeau thinks Carney would want to be his finance minister.

[viper37]

Ahhh, I hear the sweet sound of independence.

Do you think the Conservatives will grant that?

They'll try to stop it. With the state the CAF are in, I'm not sure they can do much else when we open fire on Fort Lévis.

[viper37]

The other remarkable thing is Trudeau thinks Carney would want to be his finance minister.

He might not think he wants it, that's why there's a leak like this in public.

He's trying to embarrass him, maybe?  For the next leadership campaign his opponents could point at him and say the country needed him, but all he did was stay in the shadows to sabotage their good work.

[crazy canuck]

The other remarkable thing is Trudeau thinks Carney would want to be his finance minister.

He might not think he wants it, that's why there's a leak like this in public.

He's trying to embarrass him, maybe?  For the next leadership campaign his opponents could point at him and say the country needed him, but all he did was stay in the shadows to sabotage their good work.

Good point

[Sheilbh]

The other remarkable thing is Trudeau thinks Carney would want to be his finance minister.

Yeah - if the problem is Trudeau I don't see why you'd want to tie yourself to him at the last. Especially if you think you can succeed him - not sure what the upside for him is?

Interestingly Carney has just accepted a role on the board of Labour's National Wealth Fund (it's not anything new really just a re-badging of some existing bodies) from the Chancellor (she used to work for him in the BofE and was endorsed by him at last party conference).

Obviously that's an easy job to quit but the timing seems odd if you're expecting an offer to become Finance Minister in Canada. He's been doing interviews across the UK media for the last couple of days backing Reeves. And it's a nice, slightly public policy role to have if you wanted to hang out for, say, the next 18 months?