On unclear responsibilities

So much for the theory that last week's fracas involving Denis Coderre might at least encourage Michael Ignatieff to break down some of the Libs' more anti-democratic tendencies, as he's now declared that somebody else will soon ascend to the same "lieutenant" role previously occupied by Coderre:

Ignatieff also told reporters that he will nominate someone to replace Coderre as Quebec lieutenant in the coming days, most likely another elected MP.

"I will name this representative, and I believe we will choose perhaps at the same time a leading organizer," he said.

That would seem to signal that Ignatieff is taking Scott Reid's advice and splitting up responsibilities for planning and organizing. But it's the former part of the job description which looks to be a particularly problematic one as matters stand. Despite the odd agreement among the Globe and Mail's strategist panel, there's no apparent reason why a party would be best served creating a single position which is so sacred that even the party's elected (or appointed) leader doesn't dare to exercise oversight over its actions. And that seems to be the Libs' idea of a lieutenant which Ignatieff is preserving, as a person who never answers to the party as a whole is handed the authority to make decisions such as appointing and removing candidates which may override both the desires of grassroots on the riding level, and the interests of the national party.

But it gets worse for Ignatieff. Even if one somehow saw value in the Coderre vision of a fiefdom where a single appointed person holds the "moral authority" to make all decisions within a province without considering anything but his own political interests, the reality is that Ignatieff has already ensured that there will be serious doubts about the actual authority of Coderre's replacement. Which means that even if Ignatieff isn't concerned about creating accountable structures in principle, he'd still have reason to set them up if only due to the fact that nobody will believe that his next lieutenant's decisions are any more final than Coderre's.

Instead, by maintaining the lieutenant position even after he's undercut the arbitrary authority which provides its foundation, Ignatieff has left himself with the worst of both worlds. Even as he publicly clings to anti-democratic notions of full Quebec command by an unelected figure, he's ensured that whoever holds the position next will be taken less than entirely seriously in the job - and neither the next lieutenant nor Ignatieff figures to benefit from the doubts Iffy has created.

(Edit: fixed typo/wording.)