By: Staff Writer - Voters dispatched two political leaders -- Michael Ignatieff and Gilles Duceppe -- in the May 2 federal election, each of them casualties of electorates that decided they wanted something different.
In the case of Mr. Ignatieff, it is hard to say precisely why Canadians never warmed to the Liberal leader, who superficially seemed to have many of the qualities of leadership. He was highly intelligent, worldly, articulate, and handsome, but he never seemed to click.
Some pundits have concluded his demise was the result of a Conservative smear campaign that portrayed him as a rootless carpetbagger who had returned home to claim a throne he had not earned. The negative advertising may have influenced some Canadians, but it's far too simplistic an answer.
Canadians were voting for something on May 2, but it wasn't for Mr. Ignatieff and the warmed-over Liberal brand. In another time, another place, he might have done better, but timing was not on his side.
Today, as he prepares to renew his life as a university teacher, Mr. Ignatieff deserves the gratitude and respect of Canadians for the honourable service he has provided. He conducted himself with grace and poise in Parliament, demonstrating that politicians can behave respectfully under difficult circumstances.
His rapid departure has forced the party to hold a leadership convention earlier than wanted or needed, but sometimes a quick termination is the most painless and efficient way to start over.
As for Mr. Duceppe, he and his separatist party will not be missed by Canadians, including Quebecers, who had obviously had their fill of the movement. The party, by definition, had no interest in Canada or the well-being of Canadians in general. It stood only for Quebec and was not ashamed to routinely demand more than its share of the national pie.
For reasons that are not fully understood yet, Quebec voters -- the shrewdest in the country -- decided the party no longer adequately represented their interests, or that it had taken them all for granted for too long. Finding minimal appeal in either the Conservative or Liberal parties, the people moved en masse to the New Democrats, although it remains to be seen if the NDP will have any staying power in la belle province.
In the end, both Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Duceppe seemed shocked and surprised by the devastation, but they should not have been. Each man seems to have assumed, despite the warnings in the polls, that their parties were indispensable, which they clearly were not. It's a lesson that all political leaders should remember.