There was much guffawing at the start of this week at the expense of the National Post's John Ivison, who within a few hours reported that the coalition was doomed because Michael Ignatieff was opposed to it, and then that it would go forward because Ignatieff had been appeased with the promise that he would lead it. Neither, obviously, proved to be true; the coalition went forward, at least for a few days, and Ignatieff seems to have made it a pre-condition of support that he wouldn't have to lead it.
It was not the columnist's finest hour, and provided a useful lesson about relying on sources who purport to speak for politicians. But given the way the week played out, the episode said at least as much about the Ignatieff campaign as it did about Ivison.
The parliamentary meltdown has provided the best test so far of how the frontrunner for the Liberal leadership - and very possibly the next prime minister - handles crisis. It's not been encouraging. He spent most of the week in hiding, then emerged from caucus on Thursday to quote Aristotle without giving a clear sense one way or the other of whether he thinks the coalition should go forward. Meanwhile, wildly conflicting messages continue to come out of his camp, from supportive noises about the coalition to thinly veiled opposition to it.
Admittedly, Ignatieff has a much tougher task than Bob Rae. Running a relatively distant second, Rae's stakes are lower and he can afford to take risks. Anything that significantly changes the game probably helps him, and in this instance not having a lot of caucus supporters pulling you in different directions is actually an advantage. But the fact is, whether or not you agree with him, his very clear position on a coalition government and his willingness to defend it to anyone and everyone makes him look decisive. Ignatieff, trying to avoid offending anyone and clearly being pulled in a thousand directions, looks like a deer caught in the headlights.
Part of this may be Ignatieff's natural inclination to twist himself into knots. But he also seems to have fallen prey to a typical frontrunner problem - too many competing interests in his camp, and too many people calling the shots.
There are many smart people in the Ignatieff camp, but it's difficult to get a sense this week of who's in charge. Maybe Ian Davey. Maybe Steve McKinnon. Maybe Don Guy.
The Ignatieff camp would likely tell you that it's all of the above - a collaborative arrangement in which everyone's working together in harmony. That sounds good in principle. But if that's what they're aiming for, it means that nobody is in charge - which would go a long way toward explaining the lack of consistency in message.
In trying to keep MPs, talking heads, organizers, supportive bloggers and the candidate himself all on the same page, Team Iggy needs a strong hand at the helm. There are several people capable of fulfilling that role, but not one of them has been fully entrusted with it.
The story this weekend will be about the Liberals resolving their leadership situation. But perhaps the favourite to take over from Stephane Dion has a leadership situation of his own to resolve.
