There is very little residual personal loyalty to Trudeau, who has not expended much of his energy on caucus relations
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The first rule of regicide is: “if you come for the king, you best not miss.”
Another useful axiom is that, when you are poised to act, don’t have word leak out just before a long weekend, ahead of a break week, and a full 12 days before you can rally support at the next caucus meeting.
The incipient mutiny of Liberal backbenchers sounded credible when first reported by the Toronto Star, with as many as 40 MPs said to have signed their name to a letter calling for Justin Trudeau to step down as Liberal leader.
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But if the coup had legs, sources now suggest it has lost them.
Appointing the experienced Andrew Bevan to run the next election campaign has apparently provided a release valve for some of the frustration.
One of the biggest complaints among the band of dissenting MPs was reputedly that the party was not doing anything to help them get re-elected. The announcement of Bevan’s appointment on the weekend has apparently persuaded a couple of cabinet ministers who intended to put their names on the fabled document to think again.
If Bevan moves quickly to put out a plausible plan, the refuseniks may find their numbers beginning to ebb.
By establishing who is not going to run again, and by dangling the carrot of a potential cabinet shuffle before........