If Stephen Harper wants to know what his nemesis looks like, he has only to look in the mirror. He was absolutely correct in his concession speech when he took responsibility for his government鈥檚 defeat.
As Justin Trudeau gears up to be prime minister, he could learn lessons from Harper, the most valuable being that one person is not the government, that the prime minister should reach out to all Canadians, not just to the core supporters who elected him.
Complaints have been loud and frequent that Harper attained a majority in Parliament with the support of a minority of voters. The same is true of Trudeau鈥檚 majority 鈥� the most recent figures show the Liberals鈥� share of the popular vote at 39.5 per cent, compared to the Conservatives鈥� 31.9 per cent. The NDP鈥檚 share of the popular vote was 19.7 per cent.
That does not preclude good government on the part of the Liberals, but if Trudeau keeps that humbling fact in mind 鈥� 60 per cent of voters wanted someone else to be prime minister 鈥� it could prevent him from isolating himself in the tower of power and help him remember his promise of inclusiveness.
During the campaign, Harper never really tried to reach outside his limited circle of support. He came to visit Comox during the campaign with less than two hours鈥� notice and only the party faithful were invited.
He sought to stay connected only to his base. He would not have made many inroads among dedicated supporters of the NDP, the Liberals and the Greens. But throughout the campaign, polls showed a huge mass of undecided voters, people looking for answers, ready to be persuaded.
From the undecided came the swing votes that decided the election. Trudeau should keep in mind what Harper ignored, that Canadians are not so sharply divided by partisanship as the Americans are. Most of us like living in the middle, and how we voted in this election will not determine how we vote in the next.
Harper left the impression that he didn鈥檛 particularly like Canadians, at least not the way they were. He didn鈥檛 seem to see the country鈥檚 wonderful possibilities, but only what he perceived to be its flaws.
In trying to capitalize on our fears, he painted a grim picture of a country threatened by terrorists from without and subversives within. His attempt to limit the flow of information bordered on paranoia, and went contrary to the Canadian spirit of openness.
Sure, there are security concerns, and we should take reasonable precautions, but a life spent cowering in a bunker is not much of a life.
sa国际传媒 steered a good course through the recession with Harper at the helm 鈥� we fared much better than other countries did. The economy could be better, but it鈥檚 in decent shape. The unemployment rate is about seven per cent, not far above what some economists define as full employment. Inflation is low; real incomes are at an all-time high. A more open, sympathetic Harper could easily have won the election. But he appeared to forget that the job of MPs (and that includes the prime minister) is to do, within reason, what the people tell them to do, not to be telling the people what to do.
Trudeau can learn from Harper鈥檚 successes and failures. If he doesn鈥檛, remember there will be another election in four years. When Canadians get tired of arrogance and entitlement, they tend to kick the bums out, regardless of their political colours.
They鈥檝e done it before, and they will do it again.
