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Monday June 20, 2005 |
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SEARCHING FOR THE REAL STEPHEN
by Angelo Persichilli
THE HILL TIMES
It
was a beautiful morning when the Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper
arrived at Villa Colombo, a seniors residence for Italian-Canadians in
Toronto, Ont. Villa Colombo is a must visit place for every politician with
aspirations (and they all have). It’s a wholesale centre for a perfect
photo-op, an Epcot Centre for political organizers: the welcoming party was
already there, and they didn’t need to bus in the raw material for the
choreography. The Kodak spots were practically unlimited.
Here at the
Villa Colombo, there’s always a group of seniors playing tressette, another
arguing in a bocce court, others seated outside the bar talking about the
last soccer game or complaining about paying too much taxes. And there’s
more: a few metres away, there are dozens of kindergarten children ready to
cheer everybody on.
Jean
Chrétien twice kicked off national electoral campaigns there. In 1997, he
was cheered by bystanders; even if he arrived at Villa Colombo a few days
after his government gave the proverbial Trudeau finger to the families of
the Italian Canadian internees during World War II. He told them to forgive
and forget: forgive his predecessor Mackenzie King and forget the
compensation for the huge financial losses they suffered and that the
Liberals were asking for them when it was Brian Mulroney at the government.
One more
thing: at the entrance of this political wonderland there were many PC
supporters, journalists and cameras ready to roll. So this was the scene
setter, when Stephen Harper arrived that Toronto sunny morning at Villa
Colombo, dressed in a nice suit, wearing a timid smile to match his perfect
tie.
He entered
the complex followed by a horde of journalists and cameras and started
asking questions to members of the administration about Villa Colombo: How
were they running it? What kinds of problems were they facing? How could the
government help? He seemed impressed by the operation and was looking for
suggestions and ideas on how to forge his policies. He was even interested
in a huge mosaic on the main wall of the atrium of the seniors’ home, an
artistic visual history of Italian immigration to Canada.
It was very
interesting to watch. But there was one small glitch: he was so interested
in the organization that he never mingled with the many seniors inside
playing tressette or talking at the bar.
I got
closer to him and his handlers and I heard conversations like this:
‘Stephen, let’s go say hi to those three people.’ Harper was going, shaking
hands, but it was like the
‘toccata e fuga’
(hit and run) of a
Sebastian Bach opera.
Why? I got
the answer a few minutes later.
In the huge
park of Villa Colombo, the visiting party was approaching the bocce court
where a group of seniors were arguing about their game strategy and who was
the winner. But some were also preparing strategy for the coach of an
Italian national soccer team for the next game and, of course, they had to
talk to the leader of the Official Opposition about reducing taxes and
increasing pensions.
Again, Mr.
Harper was asked by his handlers to ‘engage’ with the group in a consensual
political intercourse; what I saw instead was Mr. Harper’s respectful
attitude towards people which is “why do I have to interrupt their game and
their discussions?” His handlers insisted and, finally, he threw a ball in
the court and immediately left. “Let them play their game,” he told later to
his handlers.
I was on
the other side of the court when he left and heard one of the seniors
saying: “He is leaving without saying hi to us.” It was not his arrogance
that prevented him to mingle, it was respect for them.
Unfortunately, the political message was completely different. Later in the
tour, the ice around him started to crack and eventually melt: he was warm
with children and engaged seniors in a serious discussion. He was really
listening. And he spent some real time with them. But there’s one small
problem: the cameras had left! It might be due to his experience in the
daily Question Period that helped him to better handle the children than the
seniors, but he was cheerful and, most of all, he was sincere. He was not
faking.
Harper
gives the best of himself off camera. It looks like he wants to keep his
personal feelings and character private. He is witty, funny and a warm
person.
As soon as
the cameras roll, however, he becomes “official,” the politician. He’s
stiff, detached, and analytical. For Harper arriving at Villa Colombo or
arriving at a Bay Street boardroom is the same thing. And he is right: he
goes to both places to talk business, to talk politics, not play bocce.
Unfortunately in politics you have to do both. When you do politics, you
tell them what you want to do. When you play bocce, you tell them who you
are.
Many
politicians have adapted to this reality and have a real image for the few,
and a fake one for the many in front of the cameras. In other words, they
hide the worst and they show the best. The irony with Harper is that the
truth is the other way around: he hides the best and shows the worst. That’s
why last week I was happy when I heard that Harper will be trying this
summer to personally meet many Canadians and show the “real person,” eating
hot dogs and cooking hamburgers. It is unfortunate, but this is a sad
reality.
Obviously I’m not
talking about Mr. Harper’s policies; I’m only trying to expose an attitude
where the frivolous has become an art and the deception a virtue. I’m only
trying to expose a system that is destroying, with the help of the media,
the Canadian political system. It is an attitude where the ability to run
the country is measured with the ability of the politicians to flip
hamburgers. Liberals are very good at it: Mr. Harper is trying to learn. It
is sad, but it is a reality. |
