Jean Chretien is taking on Paul Martin because he is vitriolic in his fight against insurrection. He wants to be on top for as long as he feels is necessary and would like to step down when he feels he can do so gracefully. He also is staying on because he wants to protect his reputation and insure that he has the full copyright on the legacy he leaves for the Liberal Party and Canada. The root question then becomes one of whether staying on will assist these goals.

On the question of insurrection, Chretien must realize that if he wanted to stop Liberal infighting, he's about 10 years too late. Paul Martin has been actively campaigning for the Liberal leadership throughout the entirety of Jean Chretien's term. In fact, Mr. Chretien has even sanctioned these campaigns in the past. Mr. Martin, however, is not an island. He stands with constituency associations across the country, hoards of the current cabinet and the majority of Liberal MPs (minus Don Boudria, however Mr. Martin might have gained Mr. Eggleton's support this week). Having Mr. Martin leave Cabinet will not stop Liberal infighting but will only further polarize caucus.

On the question of legacy, Mr. Chretien could take a lesson from the other side of the house. A certain religious fundamentalist from Alberta thought he too could ride out the political storm to crown himself the king of the world (or at least, with pomp grandeur and maybe even a Jet-ski, take the helm of the Alliance again). Now, Mr. Chretien is far more an astute, seasoned and scrappy politican than Mr. Day ever was and he also possesses the spoils of chairmanship which grant him full access to patronage, power and Cabinet. However, there comes a time when the warmth of the Cabinet table is not alluring enough to remain supportive.

With the lack of potential new cabinet seats and with a growing number of Liberal backbenchers aware that there day has come and gone, Mr. Chretien should not hold too much stock in the allure of the term Honourable before one's name. Additionally, while I will hardly come to the defence of the wisdom of leadership contendors like Ms. Copps, the idea of a graceful exit for Mr. Chretien and a shot at the throne must also seem more unrealistic to the likes of these contendors.

And so, will riding it out really save the day? Will hanging on really secure Mr. Chretien's place on top and in the history books of Canada? I have been duped and fooled by the man before, but my suggestion is that a Liberal government without Mr. Martin will certainly not assist in capping cutthroat coups or cementing Mr. Chretien's assumption.

(can you tell I miss column writing? sorry for the two entries but it's too long for just one!)