“T he future of this country is
more important than the future of the Liberal Party,” Jean Chrétien once
said. That was when he was told that supporting Jean Charest, leader of the
Progressive Conservative Party, in his bid for the leadership of the Liberal
Party in Québec, was bad for the Grits. This anecdote and many others will
be part of a new autobiography by former Liberal minister Alfonso Gagliano,
to be released at the end of this month.
The book,
according to sources close to Gagliano, former Quebec lieutenant in
Chrétien’s Cabinet, will be about his political carreer but the sponsorship
scandal will be one of the most substantive subjects of the 260 page book,
entitled The Corridors
of Power .
The former
minister’s book will be officially released at the end of September in
French, and in the near future in English and Italian. “Up to now,” the
source told The Hill
Times, “media and
pundits have written their version of the events. Now it is Mr.
Gagliano’s turn to
tell his truth.” According to some who have read the book, the reading is
simple and “reflects the style and the simplicity of the former minister,
but the message is strong.” It’s a message of political loyalty to the
leader and to the party.
Gagliano told his
friends that he wanted to write the book for a couple of reasons.
First, it was
important to write the story of a little boy who arrived in Canada in the
’60s with no money or education, who reached the “corridors of power and
became the lieutenant of a Prime minister in Québec. It was a story of
success,” says the source, “but it was also the cause of his defeat.” In
fact, Mr. Gagliano refers to his involvement in the sponsorship program in
his book, writing that it all happened because “I did not defend the
interests of some people.” Mr. Gagliano describes his relationship with
former Liberal leaders and writes extensively about former prime minister
Paul Martin and his handling of the controversial sponsorship file.
Special attention
is given in the book to the role of the media, in particular
The Globe and Mail
in the events that led to his
resignation from Cabinet and, later, from his position as Canadian
ambassador to Denmark.
Much of the book
discusses details and events already reported in the media, “but we will
also find in the book,” says the source, “facts and details, up to now,
missing.” We will also find a large amount of criticism laid against the
John Gomery commission into the sponsorship scandal.
The book is also
about telling his story for his family and his three young granddaughters
(plus another one on the way).
“Now they are very
little,” Gagliano told some friends not long ago, “but when they grow up,
most likely I will not be there to tell them my side of the story. I want
them to know that their grandfather was an honest man that loved his job,
the country and his family.” Gagliano was first elected to the House in 1984
in the Montréal riding of St. Leonard, and he was reelected in every
election following until he resigned in 2002. He worked very closely with
Chrétien, becoming his righthand man in Québec. Mr.
Gagliano was
appointed to many important Cabinet positions, including minister of Public
Works, the same ministry that handled the controversial sponsorship program.
Because of the
scandal that erupted around the program, and after a series of accusations
against him in the ensuing years, he was forced to resign, and later, was
appointed Canadian ambassador to Denmark. This appointment was revoked by
the following prime minister, Paul Martin, despite Gagliano’s claim of
innocence.
The former
minister has since sued the government and former prime minister Martin, and
the case is still before the courts.
