It might be stretching comparisons too far, but the current leadership fight in the Canadian Liberal Party certainly bears some similarities to the current tensions in the governing Progressive Labour Party in Bermuda.

In Canada a series of allegations about Government sleaze and corruption have left Prime Minister Jean Chretien and his Government vulnerable.

Growing unhappiness with Mr. Chretien's own leadership style from the Liberal backbenches has led to continued infighting. That culminated with the sacking of Finance Minister Paul Martin after the main rival to Mr. Chretien publicly said he would have to consider his options in the wake of a Cabinet shuffle.

Mr. Martin's sacking has consolidated Mr. Chretian's hold on power for now, but may cause further internal problems for the Liberals since Mr. Martin is now free to openly campaign for the leadership, which is due to be reviewed in February, according to analysts.

To be sure, there are many dissimilarities between the Canadian situation and the current leadership tussle in Bermuda.

One is that the concerns over sleaze have not reached the same level in Bermuda as they have in Canada. Nonetheless, the Housing Corporation inquiry and Government's initial reluctance to deal with it until it was forced to by media reports shows that all is not well and has undermined confidence.

While Housing Minister Nelson Bascome has not in any way been connected to the allegations, he could have done much to defuse the scandal by acknowledging that it occurred on his watch and resigning.

The other significant difference lies in the fact that while there is opposition to Premier Jennifer Smith, no politician has come forward as a challenger.

But the sagas demonstrates what can happen to seemingly unassailable leaders who fail to ensure that their administrations are squeaky clean and that communications within the Cabinet and between the leadership and the backbenches are open and direct.

While the PLP's troubles have not yet reached the nadir that the Canadian Liberals have, its members should keep in mind the words of National Post columnist Andrew Coyne who write of the Liberal infighting: "For the (Liberals) it is the sum of all fears, the conflict everyone dreaded but no one could avert and once under way can only get worse."