THE SCORPION

What's Chretien up to? (PETER WORTHINGTON, August 20, 2003, Toronto Sun)

It's not only valid to wonder what Jean Chretien is up to in these crumbling days of his prime ministership, it's the duty of Liberals to do so.

Here's a guy whose political career is in its death throes.

How he will be remembered is already decided by his 40-plus extraordinary years as a politician.

So why is he behaving as he is - with petulance, vanity, even irrationality?

A case in point is this week's ongoing gathering in North Bay of Liberal caucus members who are in varying degrees of emotional turmoil over Chretien's insistence on supporting gay marriages.

Instead of letting the question be debated (and dodged) in Parliament, he has slithered out on a limb and endorses homosexual marriages on the basis of human rights - not "unions" or partnerships which already exist, but formal marriage.

He insists he believes it is the right thing to do, and has raised the hackles of the Catholic church, with the Pope taking oblique swipes at him, not to mention elements of his caucus and the public.

Is it dementia, vindictiveness, mischief that motivates him?

Because it's his nature? Posted by Orrin Judd at August 21, 2003 6:33 PM