Liberal feuding has hurt party, Rae says

The Liberal Party needs to stop its internal feuding and open its doors to a wide array of potential supporters, or it won't have the heft to run a truly national campaign during the next federal election, interim leader Bob Rae says.

Rae used a blunt speech to party members Saturday in Victoria to dress down the Liberals' woes in the wake of their historic flop in last May's general election. The party fell to a record low of 34 seats and dropped below second place for the first time in its history.

He said Liberals "have allowed competing ambitions and warring factions" to undermine trust within the party, and suggested local riding associations have become "controlled by small cliques," according the prepared text of his remarks.

Instead, the party needs to think big and envision how it can get back into power, Rae said. It must not satisfy itself with playing a boutique role in government as a small but comfortablegroup that takes on "tiny projects."

That means opening up sometimes tight-fisted controls on its memberships, sharing resources and cash between riding associations and outfitting itself with the latest fundraising technology, Rae said. If the Liberals can't double their funding every year between now and 2015 they'll be significantly hampered in that year's federal election, he said.

Rae's speech is aimed at sparking an intense debate among the Liberal grassroots as it prepares for a mid-January convention aimed at rebuilding the shattered party.

He said he also wants to simplify the party's constitution and its structure, and added that the global Occupy movement is evidence that the middle class around the world feels abandoned by government.