On internal mistrust

Another telling sign about the current state of the Libs managed to pass largely without notice today, as all indications are that Stephane Dion doesn't trust his MPs' discretion any more than they trust his judgment:

Mr. Dion left his MPs guessing about the potential for a fall election just hours before giving his response in the House of Commons to the government's fall agenda.

Liberal MPs emerged from a caucus meeting saying little, telling reporters that Mr. Dion had not revealed his decision about whether to accept or reject the throne speech.

Given how blatantly the Libs had leaked most of their strategy already, it's surprising that Dion thought anything was in need of protection. But even if there was much of a secret to keep, it can't say much for Dion's view of his own caucus that he didn't consider his MPs capable of holding off on leaking his strategy for the few hours between the caucus meeting and his afternoon speech.

What's more, the situation figures to repeat itself as the Cons put the Libs' backs to the wall in a series of confidence votes this fall. And if Dion really thinks he's best off making his decisions in public first and justifying them to his caucus later, it's worth wondering just what future surprises he'll end up springing on the Libs - and how long it'll take for his MPs to start responding in kind.