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发帖数: 29846 | 1 Stephen Harper: The Canadian prime minister has revolutionised politics in
his homeland
When thinking of Canada, I strongly doubt that the first thing to pop into
most people's heads would be "bastion of political conservatism". Yet in
this liberal country, prime minister Stephen Harper has carved out an
impressive reputation as one of the world's most successful centre-right
leaders.
Through two minority Tory governments (2006 and 2008), and since May 2011 at
the head of a majority government, Harper has balanced strong leadership
with a confident domestic and foreign policy agenda. Canada may be a middle
power, but our prime minister will accept nothing less than a seat at the
top table.
This has been aided in large part by well-received political and economic
policies. Harper's unwavering stance in support of Israel, passionate
defence of democracy and fierce opposition to global terrorism has won
international praise. He has no fear of gradually reducing the size of
government and the bureaucracy, cutting bloated social programmes and
bringing down income tax rates. Meanwhile, the Canadian economy is in
relatively good shape as compared to the US and Europe.
So, what is Harper's secret of conservative success in a liberal society?
What lessons can he teach David Cameron, the US Republicans and other centre
-right Western leaders about maintaining their convictions and still winning
elections?
Maybe I can shed some light. I've known Harper since 1996. Although we weren
't close friends, we met every so often and used to keep in fairly regular
contact. We discussed everything from Canadian politics to, believe it or
not, traditional Christmas music. I also worked in the Prime Minister's
Office as one of his speechwriters during the first minority government.
Harper is a highly intelligent, well-read, and astute political thinker. He'
s a great admirer of past conservative leaders like Ronald Reagan, Sir
Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. He holds a master's degree in
economics from the University of Calgary, and is always engaged when it
comes to Canada's financial health and future success. Harper understands
campaigning, having first won a federal seat in 1993, and enjoys the subtle
art of strategic warfare during an election. He's also a conviction
politician: doing what he feels is right, no matter the personal cost in
terms of popular opinion and support.
Yet for many years, Harper was one of Canada's most underestimated and
misunderstood public figures. He was difficult to classify, often
characterised as a voice of moderate conservatism or an extreme right-winger
out of touch with mainstream thinking. He was viewed as a policy wonk who
couldn't identify with the common man. He was a decent public speaker, but
hardly an inspiring figure: he lacked charisma, and was considered wooden.
In short, he was everything they teach you in Politics 101 not to be when
running for public office.
Political conditions were also not to Harper's advantage. The Liberals had
formed the government for nearly 75 per cent of Canada's political history.
Generations of voters, from established families to new immigrants, were
comfortable with them and often refused to consider alternatives. Even when
a Tory won a federal election, as Brian Mulroney did on two successive
occasions (a rarity), the Liberals would come roaring back in popular
support before long. In the world of give and take in federal elections,
Canadian conservatives were given many headaches — and took many hits.
There was also another pressing concern. From 1987-2003, Canada's two main
centre-right parties, the Progressive Conservatives and Reform Party (later
the Canadian Alliance), had been fighting each other tooth and nail. The PCs
had formed government on various occasions, but collapsed from 157 to two
seats in the 1993 federal election. They were on life support and leaning
far more to the left. Reform/Canadian Alliance originally started in western
Canada, and had gradually gained the trust of many right-of-centre
conservatives. Unfortunately, it was struggling to get more support in
Eastern Canada, the key to winning power.
Harper, like many other Canadian conservatives (myself included), was
frustrated with this lengthy stay in the wilderness. He had been involved in
all three brands: executive assistant for a PC MP, Reform MP from 1993 to
1997, and Alliance leader in 2002-03. He even left politics for a spell, due
to personal frustration with conservative politicians and the continuing
division of the two centre-right parties. Upon his return, Harper made it
his personal mission to "unite the Right" for good. He successfully merged
his party with the PCs in December 2003, and quickly became Conservative
Party leader. Less than three years after resolving this mess, Harper became
Canada's 22nd prime minister.
How did he do it? Over and above his intellectual prowess and ideological
beliefs, Harper has always been pragmatic. He knew that the real enemy for
Canadian conservatism was the Liberal Party and the priority should be to
remove it from power. At the same time, he also knew many Canadians didn't
trust Conservatives or conservatives (alas, a common problem for centre-
right leaders). Harper understood that conservatism wasn't run by one person
, party or agenda. The movement was bigger than the leader. Hence, the only
way for conservatism to succeed was to rebrand its ideological component and
recreate its political component to fit with real or perceived Canadian
values.
This was accomplished in two different ways.
First, the prime minister became a strong proponent of "incremental
conservatism". Tom Flanagan, a University of Calgary professor (and former
Harper confidant), defines this as "endorsing even very small steps if they
are in the right direction, and accepting inaction in areas that can't
feasibly be changed right now, but opposing government initiatives that are
clearly going the wrong way." Second, Canadian conservatism gradually
morphed into a new phenomenon, which I have called "Harpertism". As I
explained it in the Ottawa Citizen, Harper "became the figurehead for
Canadian conservatism, adjusted it, modified it, and rebranded it as a
moderate — and heavily watered down — version of fiscal conservatism. In
my view, Harpertism is neither good nor bad; it just is what it is. Yet the
way it occurred was simply brilliant: it developed under the radar, caught
most people off-guard, and led Conservatives back to the promised political
land." On a personal note, while I've been critical of Harper for his
reduced commitment to fiscal conservatism, there's no denying that his
strategy has worked.
Harper's quest was therefore to shift conservatism from being perceived as a
long-standing negative philosophy into a positive force for change. To do
so, an informal ten-year plan was established to create a "conservative
Canada". This would involve removing decades of extensive left-wing
brainwashing about the need for a nanny state. In both minority and majority
governments, the Harper Tories have consistently taken a slow, methodical
approach to running the country effectively as well as removing archaic
Liberal values. They have demonstrated that the Left's long-standing
description of the "scary" Conservatives and their "hidden agenda" was
nothing more than tomfoolery designed to frighten the public at every turn.
So, the Tories instituted a moderate fiscal conservative economic plan that
would appeal to a wide range of individuals and groups. Targeted tax cuts
were favoured rather than broad-based tax relief, and while small reforms to
private healthcare were championed, a commitment to universal healthcare
was maintained. At the same time, foreign policy positions got stronger.
Canada took a leadership role in Afghanistan, and publicly condemned despots
and totalitarian regimes like Syria. Israel was strongly defended, but a
two-state solution was endorsed in various speeches. Walking out of the
United Nations when a tyrant like Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was speaking
was encouraged, but suggestions of leaving the UN were barely uttered.
The transition didn't always go smoothly. Harper, a strong leader who rules
with an iron fist and demands fierce loyalty, ran both the 2006 and 2008
minority governments as if he had a majority. Coupled with the fact that
the Tories have no natural allies in the House of Commons, parliamentary
sessions went through wild fluctuations of compromise and aggression.
Opposition parties often threatened to bring down the government but Harper
rarely blinked, telling them to go ahead. In December 2008, it nearly
happened: there was an attempt at a coup, in which the opposition signed a
deal in principle to bring down the government. But Harper was able to
prorogue parliament at the last minute and the opposition alliance quickly
dissolved.
Surprisingly, this near-defeat made Harper even more popular. More Canadians
began to admire his intelligence, political savvy and tenacious leadership
skills. They had grown to like the fact that the prime minister was a
conviction politician. He worked hard to improve some of his flaws — public
speaking, people skills — and succeeded. The economy was chugging along
nicely. Canada's new role on the international stage proved that a middle
power could have real influence if it was willing to speak up. The Tory tent
began to encompass more people than ever before.
And the biggest change? The Liberal hegemony over Canadian values had
collapsed like a house of cards. In July 2011, shortly after winning the
election, Harper made this powerful statement to supporters: "Conservative
values are Canadian values. Canadian values are conservative values. They
always were . . . and Canadians are going back to the party that most
closely reflects who they really are: the Conservative Party, which is
Canada's party." Three successive election wins, combined with voters
becoming more comfortable with a Conservative government in power, had led
to a generational shift in attitudes. What had been Liberal in Canada was
now Conservative. It was going to be difficult for left-wing parties to
change this perception anytime soon.
This is Harper's secret. He succeeded where many other conservatives failed
by refusing to be bogged down by ideology and by giving the people what they
wanted. He changed the hearts and minds of voters by refusing to settle for
second-best — because he wanted Canada to be great. He dismantled negative
associations with conservatism and showed how it could benefit society by
promoting individual rights and freedoms over constant government
interference. He blended moderate policies with principled actions, in the
process turning a policy wonk into a powerful, confident leader.
Thanks to Harper's efforts, we are more prosperous, confident and better-off
in (formerly) liberal Canada. If other centre-right leaders follow this
forward-thinking strategy, there's no reason the same thing can't happen in
their countries. |
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