The Toronto Star is reporting the beginnings of a palace coup in the Ignatieff kingdom. According to respected columnist Angelo Persichilli, dissatisfied Liberals would like to see Michael Ignatieff go back to the Ivory Tower so Bob Rae can come lord over the Liberal fiefdom.
Who knows whether this is a real initiative or Christmas cocktail gossip. It matters not if you are Michael Ignatieff or his political opponents. This story will put the Liberal leader in a foul mood and have the rest of us gleeful. It will shape the political news agenda for a few days.
Coming a couple of weeks after Stephane Dion's wife's Facebook meltdown, this tale further reiterates a pattern of high-profile discontent in good ship Liberal.
Every time Ignatieff takes one step forward (witness his HST positioning) his own team tackles him two steps back.
This ongoing carping from Liberals about their leadership reinforces for the public the sense that the Liberal Party is not ready for primetime. In a week when they would normally be whipping the government about climate change, they now find themselves sweltering under their own spin.
