>>REVIEW
FULL CIRCLE: DEATH AND RESURRECTION IN CANADIAN CONSERVATIVE POLITICS
Bob Plamondon
Key Porter Books, 472 pp.
The electoral mathematics of Canada’s right wing is always interesting. After leading the charge to destroy one of the most electorally successful variants of political conservatism in Canada, the arch vandal, Preston Manning, began to argue for the need to "unite the right." The suggestion was made that the simple addition of Progressive Conservative votes and those of the Social Credit-WCC-Reform-Alliance would be enough to win power, and implement an ill-defined "populist" agenda. However, as both my son and I know, mathematics is never that easy. And from the early 1990s until the recent birth of the Conservative Party, the lack of unity between those two particular sections of the conservative movement allowed our country’s most consistently right wing and social-program-slashing grouping, the Liberal Party of Canada, unparalleled electoral success from 1993 until, at least, 2004 if not 2006.
The above is brilliantly captured in Bob Plamondon’s book Full Circle: Death and Resurrection in Canadian Conservative Politics. Plamondon, an unabashed conservative, shows how Manning undermined Brian Mulroney’s coalition in an attempt to implement his long-standing plans for the so-called reform of Canada’s political, social and economic system. Obviously, and thankfully, this move was not successful, and the remainder of the book chronicles attempts of various conservatives to either unite the parties or, initially at least, bring the "other" party and its supporters under the electoral umbrella and control of their own party. The political machinations of Manning, Stockwell Day, Joe Clark, the ever present Brian Mulroney, David Orchard, Stephen Harper and Peter MacKay are all given due consideration in this important book, which is solidly grounded in interviews with many of the people involved in this dance of the seven veils.
This is a well-written, researched and argued book, and provides an excellent study in the history and politics of coalition building. However, the author seems to subscribe too heavily to the "great man" theory of history, and pays undue attention to the role played by individuals and not enough to the interplay of the various manifestations of Canadian conservatism. One of the major reasons the two parties were unable to unite was that the social and economic conservatism of the Reform party did not match with the resilient Red Tory strand in the PCs and the soft nationalism of conservatives in Quebec. Therefore, leaders who were seen as being too closely aligned to one particular grouping, regardless of personal charm or jet-skiing abilities, would be unsuccessful in the attempt to carve out a viable political niche. Certainly, Plamondon is well aware of this. However, I believe he pays too much attention to personalities as opposed to ideas and visceral intentions in party politics. Ultimately that’s the reason Harper and MacKay were able to come to some agreement and sire the Conservative Party. They compromised, eventually put personalities aside and came full circle to Brian Mulroney’s coalition. Sorry Preston!
Now, if they could bring the Liberals on board, they could truly unite the right. |
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