OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion was challenged by one of his MPs yesterday to “show what he's made of” and kick-start the electoral machine that remains unprepared for a federal election in Quebec.
Liberal MP Raymonde Folco spoke as Mr. Dion prepares for events in Montreal today and tomorrow and as a growing number of Liberals are openly casting doubts on his leadership.
During the past week, a party vice-president, a former Liberal cabinet minister and a variety of officials have complained about the lack of election readiness in Quebec.
Senior Liberals say they expect that Mr. Dion will deliver a positive message at a news conference this afternoon, while “addressing more directly” the dissent in his ranks.
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In an interview yesterday, Ms. Folco said the outlook for the Liberals has “not changed greatly” since the stunning by-election loss in the party stronghold of Outremont six months ago. The MP for Laval-Les Îles, just north of Montreal, said Mr. Dion has to take immediate action to ready the party for the next election.
“Now's the time for him to show what he's made of,” she said in an interview. “I am not in favour of a putsch. He is my leader, he is the person elected by the members of the party and I respect that. But he has things to do, and he has to do them quickly.”
Ms. Folco is particularly concerned that Liberals still lack official candidates in a number of Quebec ridings, and that delays are causing potential standard-bearers to abandon hope. The Liberal Party will not say how many candidates have been selected for the province's 75 ridings.
“When there are people who are ready to run, who have experience, who are Liberals and known to us, we absolutely have to go and get them,” Ms. Folco said. “And when they're ready to run, we have to accept their candidacy.”
Ms. Folco said she expects Mr. Dion to set clear deadlines for nominating candidates, fundraising and organization.
“That's what we expect from a leader,” she said. “The reality is we absolutely have to put more energy, more effort than we have up until now.”
A number of Liberals in Quebec have also expressed dissatisfaction with the party's lead organizer in the province, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette.
Ms. Folco agreed with the assessment of former minister Liza Frulla, who said the party's Quebec lieutenant has an “abrasive” personality.
“Ms. Hervieux-Payette has been in the party for a long time and she's someone who has the habit of always being right,” Ms. Folco said.
In Nova Scotia yesterday, Mr. Dion defended Ms. Hervieux-Payette and emphasized her devotion to the party and her experience as an organizer.
“She works extremely hard and many people are helping her, and more and more people are coming to help her because we will win as a team,” Mr. Dion said.
Mr. Dion also rejected suggestions that his party is dysfunctional in Quebec, saying that Liberals are united and must show a “will to win” against the Harper Conservatives.
“We are working very hard for a fight that we have to win and that we will win,” he said.
Mr. Dion is set to meet today and tomorrow with farmers, members of the film industry and students in Montreal, and to attend a fundraiser. Deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has also been collecting funds in the city during the past two days to pay down the debt that he accumulated during the 2006 leadership race.
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