TUESDAY, 11 NOVEMBER, 2003
The ambivalent reign of Jean Chrétien - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER - In all the years I have pondered national affairs within and without this column, there has been but one towering figure of the times - Jean Chrétien. However one says that with slight caution. I came of age politically in the dying days of the Mulroney era. I was fascinated (still am) by Brian Mulroney and his successor Kim Campbell. When Jean Chrétien and his Liberals came to power ten years ago, he was a relic and nothing more I thought. He didn't excite the nation like his former colleague Pierre Trudeau, nor did he offer a grandiose vision for the nation like Brian Mulroney. Jean Chrétien seemed to be Prime Minister by default. It was his time to be leader of the Liberal Party of Canada; and when the Tories imploded, it was his time to be Prime Minister. No great vision, no sustaining purpose, except perhaps that of lasting long. Or as the title of Lawrence Martin's recently published biography of Chrétien - being an Iron Man, with no purpose but withstanding the ravages of time unscathed, or at least still standing at the end, when it really mattered.
Lawrence Martin's first volume on Chrétien, The Will to Win (Toronto: Lester, 1998), is followed up with Iron Man: The Defiant Reign of Jean Chrétien. Highly anticipated by those in journalism and political circles, it takes off from where the first volume left off, just after Chrétien's win of the Liberal leadership in 1990. The prologue "'The Terrible Kid,'" does a superb job of distilling the first book, taking us to the action of the second volume when the Grits take power in 1993. Lawrence Martin, thanks to his in-depth interviews with many of the key players of the times, provides in Iron Man, today's up-to-date and definitive account of the Chrétien era. It's a serviceable first draft of history.
Iron Man was released in late October to much acclaim and attention. Though long anticipated, one found it curious that such a tome come out at a time when Chrétien was still in office. His successor apparent, Paul Martin, won't even be officially anointed by the party until this weekend, and a change of power may not take place until two weeks at the earliest, or until February at the latest as Chrétien has so defiantly claimed would be his exit. Therein, we see the ethos of the man. A man of big words and grandiose claims, yet thin on action. Chrétien was a scrapper, without much reason for scrapping except to show up the other guy.
In volume one, it was revealed that Chrétien once faked appendicitis to avoid writing an exam for school. His tough political instincts were bred in the exercise, when he actually went through with the surgery to not be proved making up the illness. Without appendix, Chrétien went on to deal with a relationship with his father that was less than comforting. He went on to become a lawyer, and went on to become a Member of Parliament, one of the youngest in Pearson's team in 1963. Forty years later, he would be in the same House, first among equals, the Prime Minister. Jean Chrétien's iron will and determination was bred in his own instincts, thus he eschewed consensus and conciliation.
Paul Martin, figures prominently in Iron Man, as the antagonist to the iron man portrayed by the author Lawrence Martin. Martin's own ambitions to avenge his own father's failed attempts to wrestle the party leadership bred in the shipping magnate a desire to become prime minister himself. They were acrimonious battles between Chrétien and Martin, but when the Liberals formed the government in 1993, and for some years thereafter, the working relationship between the Prime Minister and his finance minister was effective and beneficial for the nation. However when ambition became too difficult to stifle - Martin's for the leadership, and Chrétien's for tenure and legacy - it too, like so many other battles devolved into a scrap, with the Prime Minister losing an able minister, and at the same time buying very little time to establish his own mark on the party that would turn against him in due course in favour of the guy who was booted out. Martin does an excellent job at covering the events leading up to Martin's firing from the cabinet.
Like all contemporary books that are released, Iron Man is full of interesting revelations. Among them are the confirmations of other previous reports that Chrétien was absolutely confounded by the 1995 referendum which saw Quebec nearly vote for secession. There has been the already reported story that then defence minister David Collenette was prepared to move troops into Quebec the day after a yes vote, to protect federal installations, a report, that the Prime Minister's Office has since denied. Or the personal fallout that occurred after Chrétien took matters into his own hands and manhandled a protestor in Hull in 1996. It seems that his wife, Aline was taken aback by her husband's actions, suggesting that he resign because she thought the behaviour was unbecoming for a prime minister of Canada.
Iron Man is a good first draft of the history of the Chrétien era. It's very hard, so close to the actual close of the Chrétien government, to think that what Lawrence Martin has nailed down is in fact all so definitive. One is certain that when Chrétien's own political memoirs are written, there may be some revision or some clarification, as there always is in the documentation of history. And Lawrence Martin knows very well of what he writes, not only through his meticulous research and interviews, but through his day job of being a national affairs columnist, past and present at either of the national newspapers.
Those who follow politics from afar will appreciate a tome like Iron Man. It is good, after some time has passed to reflect on what has happened. Lawrence Martin is balanced and fair in his documentation and allows for the reader, no matter their own political preference, to make up their own mind. As someone who has never subscribed to the ideals of Jean Chrétien, Iron Man is a good look into what was going on during the era, and even so soon after the fact, allows for ample perspective into a man, whose driving premise was to provide the country with stability that rarely if ever challenged the status quo or challenged the sensibilities of Canadians, lest that do anything to hamper his chances to become re-elected.
When Canadians elected Jean Chrétien in 1993, they voted him in because he wasn't Brian Mulroney. Throughout his tenure, Jean Chrétien proved that he was not Brian Mulroney by lacking the foresight to be as stimulating or as unique as Pierre Trudeau or even Mulroney himself. Jean Chrétien governed through an impressive time in Canadian history. Rather that lead the country, it seems he just took care of it, making sure the country he was handing over to his successor was in rather decent shape.
Iron Man: The Defiant Reign of Jean Chrétien by Lawrence Martin (ISBN: 0-670-04310-9), published by Viking is $38.00 CDN.
Questions and comments may be sent to: editor@thecommentary.ca