Bob Rae - Photo courtesy of Ontario Chamber of Commerce

Major defeats are often opportunities for serious introspection. What happened? Why? How are similar circumstances avoided in the future?

These are questions pondered by pundits and supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada after the bitter defeat they suffered in last May’s general election.

For the first time since its electoral beating, the party has gathered its followers for its biennial convention.

Reading into what transpired from last weekend’s meeting, the party Sir Wilfrid Laurier formed still has a long road to travel before it can seriously aspire to an executive position in the capital city.

For a party demoted to third place for the first time in its history, it is strange to see that, apparently, the lessons weren’t learned – that is to regroup delegates and supporters in order to concentrate, morning, noon and night, on what really matters: political organization in all the ridings across the country.

Scrutinizing the biennial convention’s debates, one can only conclude that the party is still in the midst of an identity crisis. This inability to define itself in 21st century Canada is an obstacle that followers and leaders must overcome at all cost, if they wish to have a chance to win the next election.

We must admit that, in spite of what some called a dramatic situation, delegates were able to make a number of judicious decisions. For example, they defeated the idea of choosing their next leader following an American-style primary system.

The delegates were right to do so. The only winner in such a scenario would have been the Conservative’s strategists. They would have benefited from months of internal strife within the Liberal Party, and harsh words by the various contenders would have given Stephen Harper’s troupes plenty of political ammunition to stockpile until needed.

However, the delegates made a decision that will someday come back to haunt them. They have resolved to allow anyone claiming to be a party supporter to vote for the next leader of the Liberal party. A person no longer needs to be a party member to enjoy that benefit. The next leadership race will prove to be an interesting one, to say the least.

I think it’s a mistake. The party Leader has specific powers in the party’s management and this person could be chosen by people who aren’t really serious in becoming party members. We can already see how special interests groups might try to influence the votes.

All in all, the fact that the Liberal party managed to gather 3000 delegates on a January weekend can be seen as an encouraging sign. The party is still alive. Its managers and its caucus must now find a way to transform it into a party that speaks to the Canadian people. This remains as a major challenge.

Furthermore, three recounts were needed to elect the party president. An election this tight shows the party must still live with some division.

Still, this is far from a serious matter as no one is overly concerned who the president of the party is. What is important is who the next leader of the party will be, and this is why the next crucial step to be taken by the Liberal party is to choose their next leader.

The party must select its new leader by June 2013. A bizarre decision, as I have mentioned before, but nevertheless, an informal race has already begun. And with interim leader Bob Rae keeping his options open, the race should be turbulent.

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Translation Monique Kroeger