Three leaders and nearly four backstabbing years later, Liberals are willing to muse about an intriguing question: would they be better off now had Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives won a majority government in 2006?

The question arose as Liberal MPs responded in interviews to Peter Donolo's arrival as Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff's (Etobicoke-Lakeshore, Ont.) new chief of staff two weeks ago. They say Mr. Donolo, like other additions to the OLO who came with him, brings a certain experience that was sorely absent during the upheavals that shook the party following its first election loss in 13 years: He was part of Jean Chrétien's winning team.

But his arrival also brings reminders of the rebuilding that took place from 1990 to 1993 as the Liberals realigned themselves under Chrétien, and Brian Mulroney remained head of a secure Progressive Conservative majority.

Odd as it sounds, the majority Parliament was a gift to the Liberals. It gave Mr. Chréien and his caucus the time they needed, once Mr. Chrétien got former leader John Turner out of the way, to rebuild, develop new policies and get firmly on their feet for the next election.

There were no elections, no chances of an election, and none of the temptations and internal struggles that precede or follow an election with the prospect, a dream or not, of winning back power.

The current crop of Liberals hasn't had that luxury, if you can call it that, with an election possibility almost every year under Mr. Harper (Calgary Southwest). You might almost think that's why Mr. Harper kept threatening one.

"I was in opposition from 1988 to 1993," said Liberal MP Maurizio Bevilacqua (Vaughan, Ont.) in an interview with The Hill Times. "I know the work we did, we had the Aylmer conference, everybody in caucus was beefing up, everyone was travelling, travelling to help other candidates. There was a sense of clear direction."

He said the inevitable turbulence for the Liberals under three minorities in a row can only contribute to party instability, especially with two losses in the same period. "What happens in a minority situation is you always think you're months away from winning an election or at least attempting to win. After you've been in power, you obviously think you're going to be (back) in power soon. These minority governments didn't allow us the time to say, 'Look, we have a certain period that we need to re-focus, reshape, re-think, reinvigorate the party and that should have been, perhaps, more of a priority than it was. Today, we would have been probably in year four of the rebuilding process. What these minority governments have done is interrupted that."

There is the other side of the coin: If he had won a majority, Mr. Harper would have had complete freedom to implement the revolution he long espoused for federal governance while building the now-defunct Reform Party and engineering the birth of the new Conservative Party.

A Conservative majority might have been better for the Liberal Party, but retro-blue-skying Liberals say the miserable existence they've led for the past four years is preferable to the changes Mr. Harper might have introduced with a Conservative majority.

"It would have been easier for the Liberal Party had that been the case, but I think it would have been a disaster for the country, and I firmly believe that," said Liberal MP Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.). "I don't think people really understand how much this guy, Stephen Harper, has turned this country backwards in so, so many areas. This place [Parliament] has become a very, very bitter, divisive place. If you oppose these guys on anything, then you're the enemy."

All that said, Liberals believe Mr. Donolo and his new team will bring not just the experience, but the discipline that helped Mr. Chrétien win power in 1993 and hang on for 10 years until Paul Martin's relentless drive to usurp the throne finally forced him out.

"Donolo has tried to bridge the gap," said Mr. Easter, acknowledging at the same time that Chrétien-era Liberals dominate the new OLO. "I really think that's what he's tried to do. He's gone back to the Chretien years and the Martin years to try and put together the team that he believes will move us forward. I think it will be a disciplined structure. I think he went for experience around the Hill, experience around Chrétien and Martin years, and it's the kind of team that can bring discipline around the leader and focus in terms of moving us ahead, and discipline in the caucus."

Liberal MP Dan McTeague (Pickering-Scarborough East) said he sides with Mr. Easter weighing the pros and cons of the string of minorities. "I'm probably not one of those that believes you have to bring the whole house down in order to rebuild it; I think the Liberal party is a very strong competitor, both inside the caucus and outside the caucus. I think we need to re-engage our grassroots."

Mr. McTeague said he does not believe Mr. Harper would benefit if he attempts to interrupt the Liberal consolidation by engineering an election himself.

"Let me put it this way, I think the prime minister and everybody has learned that the public is very leery about an election. If he does that, he will wear it," said Mr. McTeague.

The Hill Times