The PM has indeed been acting strange lately. First, his own insecurities about his own qualifications for the PM role led him to attack the personable young Liberal leader... Then he moves on to other interesting things (as Mr Goodale explains below)...
One would think he'll show up in a cold blue sports car next - as he tries to appear more ... Human?
RALPH GOODALE'S REPORT
A commentary by the Member of Parliament for Wascana
April 30th, 2013
MR. HARPER BEHAVING ODDLY
Stephen Harper seems a little shaky lately.
He's been lashing out at school teachers, university professors, sociologists ... even camp counsellors.
With apologies to a great Canadian author, Mr. Harper is acting a bit like Stephen Leacock's character, Lord Ronald, who "flung himself on his horse and rode madly off in all directions". Such behaviour does not convey a sense of maturity, confidence or seasoned judgment.
The most recent examples started two weeks ago at Margaret Thatcher's funeral in London. It's hard to know what was running through Mr. Harper's mind as he sat in the pews in St. Paul's Cathedral, but apparently it wasn't the Iron Lady. Right after the service he quickly summoned a news conference to offer a gratuitous, trans-Atlantic insult aimed at newly-elected Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.
So what prompted such an outburst? In the wake of the bombings in Boston Mr. Trudeau had noted that, among many other things, it would be useful to find out what actually caused the perpetrators of this evil to do what they did. That seems like common sense -- if you want to prevent similar terrorist activity in the future. But Mr. Harper disagrees.
That puts him offside with both President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron who made much the same comment as Mr. Trudeau, as did many journalists and anti-terrorism experts around the world. Back in 2011, even Stephen Harper himself launched a $10-million research project to better understand the root causes of terrorism.
So what has changed? Why are the Harper Conservatives abandoning the search for hard facts and clear insight, further isolating Canada internationally, and contenting themselves with numbskull pronouncements like "the root cause of terrorism is terrorists"? If this is what they truly believe, they are exposing Canada and Canadians to greater, more complex and repetitive risks.
We can only hope that the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the security section within National Defense are more astute and effective than their current political masters. In this regard, it's not reassuring to see the RCMP being forced recently to submit to over-reaching political influence. The Force has doubtless had its problems in recent years, but the answer is not more interference from this Prime Minister's Office.
Many Canadians say the reason for Mr. Harper's superficial, erratic conduct lately has nothing to do with terrorism or national security, but everything to do with the public impact of Justin Trudeau.
People are finding Justin likable and inspirational. They agree with his focus on the success of the middle-class and all those who are working so hard to join the middle-class. They appreciate his constructive, positive approach -- giving Canadians reasons to vote FOR something once again, not just AGAINST -- and his remarkable ability to rally people around a more ambitious vision of what our country has the potential to become.
What truly shakes Mr. Harper is a hopeful, informed, engaged electorate who won't be content with manipulation or mediocrity anymore!
One would think he'll show up in a cold blue sports car next - as he tries to appear more ... Human?
RALPH GOODALE'S REPORT
A commentary by the Member of Parliament for Wascana
April 30th, 2013
MR. HARPER BEHAVING ODDLY
Stephen Harper seems a little shaky lately.
He's been lashing out at school teachers, university professors, sociologists ... even camp counsellors.
With apologies to a great Canadian author, Mr. Harper is acting a bit like Stephen Leacock's character, Lord Ronald, who "flung himself on his horse and rode madly off in all directions". Such behaviour does not convey a sense of maturity, confidence or seasoned judgment.
The most recent examples started two weeks ago at Margaret Thatcher's funeral in London. It's hard to know what was running through Mr. Harper's mind as he sat in the pews in St. Paul's Cathedral, but apparently it wasn't the Iron Lady. Right after the service he quickly summoned a news conference to offer a gratuitous, trans-Atlantic insult aimed at newly-elected Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.
So what prompted such an outburst? In the wake of the bombings in Boston Mr. Trudeau had noted that, among many other things, it would be useful to find out what actually caused the perpetrators of this evil to do what they did. That seems like common sense -- if you want to prevent similar terrorist activity in the future. But Mr. Harper disagrees.
That puts him offside with both President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron who made much the same comment as Mr. Trudeau, as did many journalists and anti-terrorism experts around the world. Back in 2011, even Stephen Harper himself launched a $10-million research project to better understand the root causes of terrorism.
So what has changed? Why are the Harper Conservatives abandoning the search for hard facts and clear insight, further isolating Canada internationally, and contenting themselves with numbskull pronouncements like "the root cause of terrorism is terrorists"? If this is what they truly believe, they are exposing Canada and Canadians to greater, more complex and repetitive risks.
We can only hope that the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the security section within National Defense are more astute and effective than their current political masters. In this regard, it's not reassuring to see the RCMP being forced recently to submit to over-reaching political influence. The Force has doubtless had its problems in recent years, but the answer is not more interference from this Prime Minister's Office.
Many Canadians say the reason for Mr. Harper's superficial, erratic conduct lately has nothing to do with terrorism or national security, but everything to do with the public impact of Justin Trudeau.
People are finding Justin likable and inspirational. They agree with his focus on the success of the middle-class and all those who are working so hard to join the middle-class. They appreciate his constructive, positive approach -- giving Canadians reasons to vote FOR something once again, not just AGAINST -- and his remarkable ability to rally people around a more ambitious vision of what our country has the potential to become.
What truly shakes Mr. Harper is a hopeful, informed, engaged electorate who won't be content with manipulation or mediocrity anymore!
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