legacy

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 13, 2000

Mulroney settles old scores

By wading single-mindedly back into the pool of partisan politics, what did Brian Mulroney accomplish? Well, to start with, he settled seven years’ worth of old scores against Jean Chretien.

For a man who always said he’d never second-guess another prime minister in office, Mulroney sure tossed his old vow out the window.

For more than an hour, Mulroney delighted a clutch of long-time associates, such as ex-Tory ministers Sinclair Stevens and Tom Siddon, former aides and local Tory faithful, with as partisan a stump speech as any ex-prime minister has ever delivered.

By the time he was through, Mulroney had ridiculed Chretien for his performances on the international scene, called him a caddie of American President Bill Clinton for his golfing relationship with his U.S. counterpart, and described his successor’s national unity politics as providing a road map to separation through his clarity bill on Quebec secession.

Mulroney’s comments went well beyond his usually glowing self-evaluation of his own Tory policies, or Pierre Trudeau’s focused criticism of specific national unity initiatives.

At one point, the former prime minister actually urged Canadians to “axe Chretien” in the next election, a rare call from the mouth of one who has technically joined the ranks of elder statesmen.

But then, Mulroney sounded more like a campaigning leader than a political retiree throughout, even putting forward his idea of an agenda for the next Canadian government — with debt reduction, taxes and constitutional reconciliation with Quebec topping the list.

Until he came to talking about Joe Clark, an hour into his speech, anyone catching it might have had a hard time reconciling his partisan rhetoric with his current status.

Surely, no one unfamiliar with Canadian politics could have surmised that this was a man who was supposed to have watched the action from the safe distance of retirement for the better part of a decade. Retired he may be, detached he is not.

By reminding the Tories of their glory days, Mulroney probably also made party loyalists feel good about themselves, a rare feeling these days.

It took him an hour to finally come around to praising his successor and former rival, Clark, the man to whose rescue he was supposed to be coming to with this speech. When he finally did, Mulroney was generous and gracious. Indeed, one would be hard-pressed to imagine Trudeau ever having such kind words about either John Turner or even Chretien.

Whether his influence extends much beyond this tightly knit circle, though, very much remains to be seen. As opposed to Trudeau, Mulroney’s audience now that he is out of office seems to have shrunk.

Thus, for his first substantial Tory outing in years, Mulroney had to make do with the strictly local venue of a suburban golf club. And ultimately, precious few of the key figures of his two governments were on hand to witness his return to centre stage.

Minutes after Mulroney left Markham, Jim Jones, the MP at whose invitation he had spoken, would still not guarantee he would run as a Tory in the next election.

As for Clark himself, who will go out of his way for TV exposure these days, he was thousands of kilometres away, campaigning in Calgary Centre.

Even in his current predicament, the Tory leader has not come around to the notion that having his picture taken alongside Mulroney is a great career move. Whether he likes it or not, the message seemed to be that he is not quite that desperate yet.

But then, when all is said and done, Mulroney had come to Markham mostly to bury Preston Manning, rather than to resurrect Clark.

Throughout his speech, he purposely ignored Stockwell Day and Tom Long, the other two main Alliance leadership contenders; the better to drive home his point that Manning has done such irreparable harm to the Conservative party as to make consorting with him a non-starter.

Afterwards, he predicted that Manning had the race sewn up and said that was good news for the Tories.

In so doing, Mulroney probably helped Clark less than he did Day and Long. By saying if Manning becomes the new right-wing party’s leader that would be the best thing that could happen to the Conservative party, Mulroney probably gave his main rivals a bit of a lift as the Alliance campaign enters the home-stretch. – Chantal Hebert (Hamilton Spectator, C2, 6/12/2000)

*** Joe Clark: The Charlie Brown of Canadian Politics ***

Looking back on my 2000 editorial cartoon, portrayed Brian Mulroney earnestly attempting to rehabilitate his political image, a recurring theme I drew out in his post Prime Ministerial years, with a focus on his backhanded effort to support Joe Clark, then the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, by repairing the shambles of the Progressive Conservative house he was fervently trying to restore.

The accompanying article by Chantal Hebert shed light on Mulroney’s return to partisan politics and his settling of old scores against Jean Chrétien. Despite the supposed mission to support Clark’s leadership, Mulroney’s partisan rhetoric and focus on other political figures overshadowed his praise for Clark, depicting the latter as the eternal “Charlie Brown of Canadian history.” This portrayal reflects the challenges and dynamics within the Progressive Conservative party during that period and captures a moment of political vulnerability for Joe Clark.

Fast forward to 2024, with Mulroney’s recent passing, the reviews of his life are mostly eulogized narratives of reverence bordering on glorification. Such is the tendency when significant national figures like Prime Ministers pass away – when the misty-eyed get their final say in mourning before it’s decent enough for historians to add their takes long after the burial ceremony. For myself, I feel a need to atone for any ridicule I may have directed towards these poor souls, so the humanist in me tends to join in with the reverence in the days following such a death. In my recent cartoon, Mulroney and politicians of his era are juxtaposed against the present, highlighting the claimed higher standards of the past. Of course, the notion that Mulroney could disagree without being disagreeable only adds to the giant crock of the current eulogized narrative.

In this reflection, two cartoons from different eras come together, showcasing enduring themes of political image management, challenges faced by leaders, and the tendency to selectively remember achievements. Joe Clark’s portrayal in the 2000 cartoon adds depth to the narrative, illustrating the complex interplay of personalities and politics within the Conservative party during that time. As we navigate the ebb and flow of political narratives, these cartoons serve as snapshots in the broader tapestry of Canadian political history. (Graeme MacKay – March 3, 2024)