8 Days of crisis on the Hill; Political blip...or Stephen Harper's Revolution Derailed?
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Stephen Harper's Leadership Style: From a variety of comments and observations by family, friends, colleagues and political journalists, the following characteristics appear prevalent. 1. Confidence in himself: One trait that has characterized Stephen Harper throughout his life has been his determination to follow his own path. He was described by his father as "his 'headstrong' son"; by friends as having a "natural inclination to lead and equally natural disinclination to be led"; by a fellow Reform executive officer that "he did not lie 'being told what to do"; and, by his university supervisor as "a difficult student". While being independently inclined can be a postive characteristic, it also can be a liability. Various associates have commented that "There's always been this concern that Harper belives he's the smartest guy in the room and that, no matter what, he's never wqrong"; and, that a "picture emerges of a bright and driven man who does not take dissenting counsel especially well." All of this independence of nature has led Harper to follow his own path towards political success. And no one can deny that he has enjoyed considerable political success as he has developed a clear idea of his political values, contributed to the success of the Teform Party, the National Citizens Coalition and the Canadian Alliance and its successor the Consevative Party. He has gone from campaign worker to Prime Minister. That surely is success. But his independence streak has also caused grief for himself and his party.
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About the Book
Whew!! What a week that was as Canadians went from being the ‘peaceable kingdom’ talking about the need for cooperation and consultation to what many described as ‘a full blown national crisis’. The Prime Minister and Conservative Government had turned an ‘economic crisis’ into a ‘political crisis’, then a ‘constitutional crisis’. And if that wasn’t enough of a week’s work, the Prime Minister managed to also turn it into a ‘crisis of national unity’.
And some say Canadian politics and politicians are boring!!!!!
Accusations of “traitor”, “coup d’état”, “illegitimate”, “undemocratic”; “loss of confidence”, “loss of trust”, “socialist”, “separatist”, and “deals with the devil”, reverberated across the floor of the House of Commons.
Each of the ‘crisis’ that engulfed the Hill over those eight days had political consequences for those involved and for the parliamentary system. Stephen Harper may have survived to fight another day but in doing so he may have committed his most serious strategic error and will pay a heavy price for it over the next months and years.
It is my contention that he is as much a strategic stumbler as a master strategist, and, that his long term goal to make the Conservative party Canada’s ‘natural governing party’ and to move Canadian society to the right has been derailed.
About the Author
I am a long-time observer of Canadian politics having taught Canadian Studies at Confederation College and Lakehead University for over 30 years. Recently I developed and taught a course on Canada to Chinese students at Guangxi University, Nanning, P.R. of China. As an interested citizen, the leadeship of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the actions of his government infuriated me. What began as a letter-to-the-editor expanded into this examination of the man and his style of leadership. I live on the shores of Lake Superior and love travelling both east and west.