Tulips bloom on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 19, 2011.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
THE VENUE Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Reduced to only 34 MPs - who are now outnumbered by 45 appointed senators - the Liberal caucus meets Wednesday morning to choose an interim leader.
But even that is not without complications. Now the third party, the Grits had traditionally met in the Centre Block's grand Railway Committee Room, which has now been taken over by the 103-member Official Opposition NDP caucus.
So the tiny Grit caucus is now meeting in a committee room that's not even on Parliament Hill. In fact, it's east of the Hill and down the street toward the Rideau Canal.
The Grits didn't have to go so far to provide a Google Map for directions, but the meeting announcement notes that the building on Wellington Street is next to the Fairmont Chateau Laurier (to avoid MPs wandering around lost).
THE CHOICES The national caucus - with Senator Jane Cordy presiding - will decide between Toronto MP Bob Rae and Montreal's Marc Garneau. The view is, however, that Mr. Rae will prevail: He has run twice now for the leadership and has a lot of support in caucus, especially among the senators.
Mr. Rae has made it clear that he will not seek the permanent leadership of the party - but that he would refuse the interim position if it was just for the summer. He wanted some guarantees that it would be a job he could do for between 18 and 24 months.
That seems likely now, given the statement released by the Liberal Party brass Tuesday night outlining amendments to the constitution that would delay a leadership convention to at least November of 2012 - and no later than February 28, 2013.
Liberal delegates will be voting on this issue next month. It is likely to be accepted as many in the party believe the rebuilding process must take place before a leadership and must be conducted without the distractions of a leadership campaign.
The caucus meeting begins at 10 a.m. and there is a news conference scheduled for noon.
THE ISSUES The interim leader will attempt to keep the Liberals alive in the news - relevant and front and centre on the issues.
It will be a challenge, especially given reports that one of Stephen Harper's first acts will be to kill the $2 per-vote subsidy and the Liberal Party along with it. These dramatic changes to political financing - originally brought in by Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien in 2003 - are likely to be in next month's Conservative budget.
Mr. Rae has a view on that: "It's important to remember how many countries around the world (including the U.S. with public funding for presidential candidates), have some form of public financing," he told The Globe in an email.
"To seek to destroy (and not just defeat) a fellow political party is dangerous, because it means the end so toxic will justify brutal ways of doing it. In a democracy everyone should be prepared to be elected or defeated, but never to destroy a political opponent."
And then Mr. Rae reflected on his own circumstance, noting that "all political jobs are, well 'interim'. That requires a degree of humility that we could all use."