Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien has come out swinging at former Prime Minister Paul Martin in his newly released book, “My Years as Prime Minister”. The two men at one time appeared to form a powerful pair in Ottawa during Chretien’s time in office. Martin as finance minister won international respect for making hard decisions which brought Canada’s soaring deficit under control and in recent years has produced surpluses. Chretien as Prime Minister backed his finance minister’s moves.

As Martin’s leadership ambitions grew, friction developed between the two. The friction ripped a gapping hole in the fabric of the Liberal party, one that is not yet repaired. By all appearances the faces may have changed in the party but the dynamics established by Chretien and Martin appear to be continuing. The rivalry and infighting which the war produced played almost as much of a role in the defeat of the Liberals under Martin as the stink of the sponsorship scandal which had been transferred from Chretien to Martin. Read the rest of this entry »