This is a little away from current affairs, although related through progeny of one of the protagonists in the story.
Recently, and have no idea why, picked up a book that I would not have read in the past. Here, the central character would likely mean nothing to many readers outside of Canada, and to those inside Canada beyond a certain birth range other than as a reference. The character is Brian Mulroney, and the author is Peter C. Newman with the
books title '
The Secret Mulroney Tapes - Unguarded Confessions Of A Prime Minister'
The prime minister of course was the boy from Baie-Comeau, Quebec, who rose in the late 70's and then in the 80's to challenge Pierre Elliot Trudeau's seat of power. Brian failed in his fist attempt, and then completely usurped the Liberals in the second.
Growing up in the same place, around the same leaders and their managers, around public opinion (and family), journalists pens and news lenses, Brian was not the guy people wanted, and yet they wanted him at certain points to counter the nonsense of Pierre (the press would generally never go against the myth that had created and sustained Pierre - because they were more rabid against Brian):
In some circles, Brian and his wife Mila had been compared to JFK's Camelot, and the opposition and press did not like it.
Newman:
Seems the press has gone full circle back to lapdog.
The influence of Pierre from afar was also stark, with seventy two senators he had affixed, he ran what might be called a parallel government out of his Montreal law firm, as Newman hints to tell it. These strings ensured bills were defeated, press leaks or what have you.
For my part when younger, and carried forward to a certain point, can see the influence makers had marked me, and on the face of it, had allowed it. Think of Cicero providing all of what one needs to know about Caesar and not looking deeper. This is the shallow risk that marks much of humankind in so many subjects. I guess it is why I picked up the book, to look at what I had not wanted to look at.
Brian was Meech Lake, Charlotte Town, Canada/US/Mexico Free Trade (NAFTA), Oka, CBC and more. Brian was also cozy with Reagan and Bush, and other world leaders that either were respected or not. Brian needed to be liked, and this comes through as a character flaw, and yet as told, he was too nice, too forgiving, too gentlemanly - a benefit of the doubt type of guy, while his wife, on the other hand, was more discerning and intuitive (as Brian well admits in retrospect). Behind doors were the knives of so-called friends (think Bouchard) like so many Brutus's. There was also much not to agree upon with Brian and policies (this takes more discussion than this overview is intended), and yet the book details the inner workings of the characters of the day - and also Brian's deeper character that many might not realize beyond the news soundbites and policies, like them or not, that he helped create and push through, and why things were either defeated or had passed. The lies around him were abject, and the maliciousness done to his family were deplorable - example:
Moreover, later Newman points out that the press and other politicians said nothing, likely because they were of those types or, they were afraid of the spotlight that Frank might but upon them. Either way, they were cowards.
As for Newman, he was a friend of Brian's, so the first question would be one of bias, and yet the book comes out mostly in Brian's words over hundreds of hours of tape recordings during his leadership tenure. Among the recordings, there was as many unflattering remarks quoted by others, as were positive. Brian also appears to be honest in what he believes, and interspersed were comments from his wife, Mila, who I admit to gaining respect for after reading about her own courage and strength in the face of a hostile press and corrupt Ottawa scene. How bad was it (is it) in Ottawa? In Brian's words, it was a Rat Pack, and as Newman quotes him:
And speaking of Nazi's (not the part about Pierre's time during WWII while Canadian men were being put under the ground while Pierre was riding around Montreal on a motorcycle wearing a German Helmet - no sound from the press on that), this was in Pierre's unwillingness - Mulroney:
Interesting enough, thinking back to war criminals like
Chomiak hiding away in Alberta, while his granddaughter climbed the political tree and distorted the historical facts (press in lockstep) while serving as our number two in Ottawa, and number one Azov supporter, it was Brian's concerns (and would have to look this up - think John Helmer spoke of it) that originally brought in Poland's intelligence community to Ottawa to help smoke them out. This is where Chomiak's trail lead to, and it was there that they found what was needed, burred in archives.
Er, there is a lot more told in this book that provides other views, so just bringing it up without going through decades of politics and hundreds of characters. Will leave it here on fiscal matters and a last word from Mila.
When Brian came to power, he inherited a fiscal mess. This was due to Pierre's debt that rose 1,200 percent in his time (from $17 billion to $200 billion). As was discussed, what did he achieve with his spending? Nothing. What he achieved with his so-called Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is now there for history in our evermore tyrannical landscape. What it did do when enacted (Mulroney's words):
Now with his son, he has eclipsed the moon with spending and special interests (remember that dad's contribution in the first column is 200 billion of the total):
(from XPan's post)
View attachment 60500
Mila:
It might be honestly said now that Pierre's progeny-son has ruined Canada thirty years later - thus, the fruit did not fall far from the tree.
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