It began early this year as a bit of ethical housecleaning by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chr?tien. With as much discretion as possible, several members of his Liberal cabinet have been let go, demoted or reassigned amid allegations of patronage and conflict of interest.

It seemed to peak on Sunday, May 26, with the highly public massacre of two top ministers. Art Eggleton of Defense was sacked for awarding a $36,500 research contract to a former girlfriend. Don Boudria of Public Works was hired in January to reform the scandal-ridden department, then got fired for vacationing at the luxurious country chalet of a government supplier.

The subsequent criticism of Mr. Chr?tien, voiced by both his opponents and supporters, is that he allowed ethical laxness to exist for too long and – this is where partisans disagree -either has not gone far enough to root it out or has gone too far.

His latest dismissal swings the pendulum of opinion solidly to the “too far” side. The firing this last Sunday of Finance Minister Paul Martin has many opponents and supporters agreeing that is the prime minister and not the cabinet member who should go.

The two men have a long, and mostly productive relationship. Once rivals to lead their party, they have been Canada’s unbeatable team since Liberals took control in 1993, with Mr. Chr?tien running the government and Mr. Martin running its finances – the greatest success of the Chr?tien administration.

Highly regarded as a skilled surgeon in fiscal policy, Mr. Martin developed and refined policies that now have Canada in its most solid fiscal shape ever. The budget is balanced, spending has been reduced without social upheaval, surpluses are paying down the country’s once staggering debt, gross domestic product continues to exceed projections, when Canada hosts the G8 economic summit later this month it can boast of leading the industrialized nations in economic growth this year and, forecasters say, next year as well.

The offense that led to his dismissal was not one of ethics, but ambition. He made no great secret of his interest in challenging Mr. Chr?tien for leadership at the Liberal convention next February and now will do so not as a teammate but again as a rival. Public opinion polls, party activists and the editorial boards of Canada’s leading newspapers are, for now, strongly suggesting that Mr. Chr?tien not wait that long to hand the reins over to Mr. Martin.

Mr. Chr?tien, of course, deserves much credit for approving and implementing the economic policies that have worked so well for Canada; his promise that those policies would continue under his new finance minister was met with positive reaction from global financial markets. And, despite this demonstrated knack for turning simple housecleaning into a crisis, Mr. Chr?tien also shows a droll sense of humor. If nothing else, he told an audience of international bankers the other night, he’s rid Canada of its reputation as a land of dull politics.