PM Harper and the "Art of Doing Nothing"

The other night Brian Mulroney, a conservative PM from the distant past, was on TV being interviewed by Steve Pakin. The Toronto Star ran with the story and commented on Mulroney's less than enthusiastic support for our PM Harper.

If you saw the interview or read the Star article (Really??? You read the Star?) there are a few things you need to know.

PM Harper wants to be PM because he wants to be PM, nothing else (except maybe having a few trips overseas, buying some F-35s, and having a nice cottage in the Gatineaus). There is no secret agenda ... because quite simply, PM Harper doesn't see the point. He's PM and that is enough.

Now Mr. Mulroney said:

“There are big ideas out there,” said the man who helped end apartheid in South Africa and gave Canada free trade with the United States.

“Popularity is meaningless unless you use it to do big and good things for your country and for the people of Canada.”

Obviously Mr. Mulroney has different ideas about the role of government. He seems to think the point of being PM is to actually do something. Fortunately PM Harper knows better. Take this response:

“What, really, have we got to show for our five years in office?” asked a former senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Luckily the answer is almost nothing. Except for a grab bag of tax cuts and tax credits, and spreading some pork around to all the ridings that were smart enough to vote Tory last time, the Harper government has done just what Canadians want it to do - nothing.

So when your friends talk to you about who to vote for, you can proudly remind them that the Tories have done and will continue to do nothing. As one Tory MP concisely explained:

"Being in power is better than not being in power"

And that is really all you need to know.