“Popularity is meaningless unless you use it to do big and good things for your country and for the people of Canada.”
Wise words.
They’re from Brian Mulroney, speaking about Stephen Harper in an interview with Steve Paikin.
Yes, that Brian Mulroney.
Sure, the guy has a notoriously sleazy political record. But there’s something refreshing about a Tory who is willing to call out Stephen Harper and advance the notion that the government can be a force for greatness.
The Toronto Star’s article on Mulroney today also features off-the-record statements from Conservative staffers who lament that the Tories have few substantive accomplishments to show for their past half-decade in power.
And that’s the direction Canada appears to be heading in… great power wasted. To be sure, Tim Harper (no relation to Stephen) notes that “there is no overarching national debate over defining issues.”
I’m not wishing that Canadian politics become something akin to the political climate in the USA – with its assassinated politicians, gun-toting rallyers, and bombastic showboating – but I do feel a little jealous when confronted with the American desire to engage in national debates over issues of great substance.
That’s something we could learn from our fellow continental citizens.
Rabbi Jesse Paikin 