The movement in the opposition benches is a sign of desperation on the part of the Liberals, says Premier Dennis Fentie.

'It's testimony that the Liberals are really scrambling to get some interest in Mr. Mitchell's vision for the territory, if he has one,' Fentie told the Star Monday.

The Liberals became the butt of several jabs on the floor of the legislature yesterday after Mayo-Tatchun MLA Eric Fairclough joined the party, usurping the New Democrats as the official Opposition. The move grabbed the title, question period time and funding away from the NDP.

During question period, the Liberals and the NDP suggested Fentie shuffle his cabinet to rid itself of ministers in potential conflict of interest situations.

In recent weeks, Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang and Community Services Minister Glenn Hart have declined to answer questions because of outside interests they have that could create conflicts with their portfolios.

'We have no intention of shuffling cabinet because the ministers are doing too good a job,' Fentie said on the floor. It's the opposition that has been steadily shuffling for the last month, the premier added.

NDP Leader Todd Hardy ousted Kluane MLA Gary McRobb and Fairclough from his caucus in March after learning the two had been consulting with their constituents about the possibility of running with a different party in the pending election.

McRobb rapidly jumped into the Liberal party's boat. Fairclough, however, had been sitting as an independent in the legislature until he publicly announced his intention to join the Liberals Monday morning.

'It's clear Mr. Mitchell and the Liberals continue to recruit incumbent MLAs. That's exactly what's been going on here,' said Fentie.

Mitchell has stated it is Liberal policy not to make a sitting MLA seek a Liberal nomination to run in a riding. It means McRobb and Fairclough will automatically be running for the Liberals when Fentie drops the writ, which he must do by November.

The change in the opposition benches, though, won't have any effect on the government, added Fentie.

He also said the movement in the official Opposition is really just a 'so-called change.

'It looks now like the official Opposition is a collective NDP party,' said the premier, himself a former NDP caucus member. 'One would ask the question: who is leading? Is it Mr. Mitchell or Mr. Hardy?'

The Liberal party appears to be moving left on the political spectrum with its recruitment of the former NDP members, said Fentie.

'(That's) contradictory to where the territory is going and where the country is going,' he said.

Mitchell said there is too much rhetoric around the idea of left, right and centre on the political spectrum and it's becoming an outdated idea.

If anything, the Liberal party is a centralist party, he said.

It was Fairclough and McRobb who moved more toward the right, meeting the Liberals in the centre, said Mitchell. It was not the Liberals moving more toward the NDP on the left.

'Most people don't think of themselves as an extremist in one direction or another,' said Mitchell.

The Liberals are a socially progressive and fiscally responsible party, he said.

He added as more of the party's candidates are announced, it will become clear some of them will be left of centre (socialist-leaning) while others are right of centre (conservative-leaning). But it will be clear on every issue where the Liberal party, as a whole, stands, he said.

'Every caucus is strengthened by having a diversity of opinions,' he said.

The Liberal party's caucus is now composed of Mitchell, the two former NDP members and Pat Duncan, a former premier and the MLA for Porter Creek South.

Duncan is a former Conservative party supporter, having worked federally for ex-Conservative MP Erik Nielsen and on campaigns for Peter Jenkins, a former Yukon Party minister and now the independent Klondike MLA. Mitchell is a former cabinet spokesman for the 1992-96 Yukon Party government.

Hardy has repeatedly stated Mitchell and the Liberals have yet to make clear just what they stand for.

'People of this territory need to know what parties stand for, what each leader stands for,' said Hardy. 'Right now, there is a huge question about the Liberals ethics and their leadership.'

Fentie agrees.

'Mr. Mitchell's only vision is in the numbers of MLAs he has in his caucus,' he said.

'That does not make a plan or a vision for the Yukon Territory. Nor does it indicate an ability to govern the territory in all its facets, including fiscally, economically, socially.

'Frankly, Mr. Mitchell and the Liberals have yet to prove that they're an opposition of any kind.'