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People are always taking shots at politicians. But when they鈥檙e laughing at you, it hurts.

Erskine-Smith has been the butt of jokes ever since being booted from the federal cabinet this month. To be clear, there is no dishonour in being dropped, but when he complained about feeling 鈥渄isrespected,鈥� it became all about him.

鈥淭he way it played out doesn鈥檛 sit right and it鈥檚 impossible not to feel disrespected,鈥� he posted on social media and in a bloviating blog.

By playing the victim in his own political game, the Beaches鈥擡ast York MP scored an 鈥渙wn goal.鈥� Yet he was hardly alone in being bounced from cabinet.

The Liberals elected 170 MPs in last month鈥檚 election, including many promising new arrivals competing for the two or three dozen spots available in any cabinet. Few are called to serve聽鈥� and any can be culled at any time.

Even the most deserving ministers serve at the pleasure of the crown. They serve the people, not themselves.

More than a mere blood sport, politics is a team sport. That鈥檚 why so many Canadians were bemused by his mewling聽鈥� everyone understands that a soccer or hockey coach has to cut players, because the team needs the right mix of defenders and wingers.

In total, 10 ministers were dropped by Prime Minister Mark Carney this time. Several more didn鈥檛 make it into Carney鈥檚 short-lived March cabinet.

None griped. All were gracious.

None dissented or felt disrespected. All departed with dignity.

Only Erskine-Smith felt entitled about his title in cabinet.

鈥淚 ran again because of the opportunity to make an even bigger difference around the cabinet table and to help fix the housing crisis,鈥� the former housing minister complained bitterly

By his logic, any other Liberal backbenchers who didn鈥檛 make it into cabinet were equally 鈥渄isrespected.鈥� Yet Erskine-Smith never complained about the cruelty of the cut when he cheerfully accepted a ministerial appointment in the dying days of Justin Trudeau鈥檚 government late last year.

Until then, the Beaches backbencher had made the most of being passed over for cabinet in his first 10 years as an MP. He remade himself into the voice of the Liberal grassroots, a maverick in his own mind.

And yet, when Trudeau ultimately fell out of favour with the party rank and file聽鈥� after Erskine-Smith had already announced his retirement from politics聽鈥� he suddenly made his peace with Trudeau. Belatedly offered the ministerial post he鈥檇 long coveted, just in time for Christmas last year, Erskine-Smith trampled on the grassroots on his way into the cabinet room, cheerfully reversing his announced retirement.

So why did Carney drop him from cabinet after just a few months on the job? After all, Erskine-Smith insists he was poised to single-handedly solve Canada鈥檚 housing crisis.

But he has long suffered from the insufferable trait of acting like the smartest man in the room, which can be a career-limiting move if you鈥檙e outsmarted by a boss who is widely deemed the smartest guy in the room. Also, when Erskine-Smith touts his Oxford education, it may not impress a prime minister who made his mark at Oxford.

Erskine-Smith鈥檚 liabilities became apparent in 2023, when he took time off from his all-important duties as an MP to run for the Ontario Liberal leadership. After finishing second to Bonnie Crombie聽鈥� and dissing her along the way聽鈥� he retreated to Ottawa without making much of a contribution to the provincial election effort, as he鈥檇 once promised.

Having burned bridges with both federal and provincial Liberals, will he still try to find cracks in Crombie鈥檚 leadership in a bid to replace her? It鈥檚 hard to imagine the Ontario Liberals opting for an outsider without a safe provincial seat, given the perils faced by high-profile party leaders of late.

In any case, Erskine-Smith 鈥渋s really hurting right now, so let’s leave it at that,鈥� Crombie said in a tone of icy mockery last week after his public self-immolation.

All that said, his legacy after a limited run of less than five months in cabinet suggests he鈥檚 more about hubris than humility. When his post-cabinet temper tantrum played out poorly, Erskine-Smith did what he does best聽鈥� blaming everyone else, or at least 鈥渢hose who only read a headline,鈥� for misinterpreting his musings.

鈥淚t was a tweet in a thread and should be read in the context of the thread. Or read in bad faith. Your choice,鈥� the MP lectured his critics on social media.

They say it鈥檚 never a bad thing when people are talking about you, or taking shots at you, as long as they spell your name correctly. But when they鈥檙e laughing about you and your choice of words, that鈥檚 a lot less fun.