Former Prime Ministers Brian Mulroney & Jean Chretien - Photo Credit: Canadian Press

Former Prime Ministers Brian Mulroney and Jean Chretien share many negative and positive traits. In fact, the similarities between the two is striking: both of Quebec working class stock, both possessing enormous drive and both doggedly determined to prove their condescending critics wrong, and both very vindictive individuals with an inability to forgive and forget. Both men were remarkable and very effective political campaigners and were viewed by opponents during campaigns as formidable political adversaries. Both married well, each married to a vibrant, warm, and talented lady, and both appear to have been loving husbands. Whatever you may think about Mulroney’s ethics and Chretien’s “ little guy from Shawinigan” schtick, it would have been a glorious and exciting match if these two were to fight each other for the Prime Ministership. But it was a contest that never happened.

What follows is a bit of counterfactual history. What if Brian Mulroney and Jean Chretien were to face each other in a battle for political supremacy? The synopsis that follows reflects my imaginings of what might have happened.

Shortly after becoming Prime Minister, the Right Honourable John Turner was felled by illness and had to resign his Prime Ministership after only a few weeks in office. The Liberals rallied around Jean Chretien, who was then chosen to succeed Turner. After becoming Prime Minister, Jean Chretien proceeded to run his government in a low key, caretaker style. After one year in office (and near the end of his mandate), Mr. Chretien approached the Governor General and an election was called. Brian Mulroney, the leader of the opposition Progressive Conservatives, immediately challenged Chretien to a debate. Chretien instantly accepted the challenge and an all party televised debate was scheduled in the second half of the political campaign. At the start of the election, polls had given Chretien a moderate lead. However, Brian Mulroney’s dynamism soon became apparent, and he eventually closed the disparity in the polls. The NDP under Ed Broadbent started to sink slightly in the polls as the electorate focused their attention on the two more aggressive Prime Ministerial candidates. For the next several weeks, the two major parties remained essentially tied in polling results, perhaps reflecting the closeness in terms of style and ability of their leaders.

Concerned about the lack of movement in the polls, Mulroney’s advisors began to push for negative advertising. In a rare display of political miscalculation, Mulroney reluctantly accepted his aids’ persistent insistence on some negative advertising. Political ads poking fun at Chretien’s facial deformity and inarticulate speaking style were run on television shortly before the leaders’ debate. It was the opportunity one commentator later remarked that Jean Chretien had been waiting for all his life.

During the early part of the debate, Mulroney effectively hammered Chretien about his government’s lack of activism. “A government of caretakers and maintenance workers”, he called it. Although a great populist communicator, Chretien was never an articulate speaker or debater, and he struggled to respond to Mulroney’s verbal blows. Ed Broadbent took on both leaders, but they reserved most of their combative energy for each other, portraying Mr. Broadbent as a sideliner. Then around the middle of the debate, Mulroney made a fatal mistake. Prompted by his advisors, Mulroney sarcastically described Chretien’s facial deformity and his poor communication skills. Chretien likened Mulroney to the children who had mocked him when he was a little boy. “When I was a kid, the other children would make fun of me. But that is how God made me. I accepted that because God gave me other qualities and I am grateful for that.” The response moved many in the audience and in living rooms around the nation to tears.

Viewers and commentators do not to remember much of what else ensued in the debates. Chretien’s response to the deformity issue is what they remember and is generally agreed by observers to have been a knockout punch.

Polls taken after the debates showed the Liberals surging ahead and both the Progressive Conservatives and NDP sinking. Mulroney responded with a huge blitz of public appearances and television ads. However, the Liberals had also reserved a lot of funds for the end of the campaign, and they countered the Tory onslaught with many appearances and television ads. Mulroney was able to stem his slide in the polls, but he was unable to bounce back completely and failed to close the gap in the polls. Jean Chretien was re-elected as Prime Minister with a comfortable majority. Brian Mulroney became leader of the opposition and Ed Broadbent, a solid campaigner, was able to retain most of his base supporters and keep official party status for the NDP.

As history shows, Chretien brilliantly deflected Kim Campbell’s political attacks on his facial deformity. It is not unreasonable to assume that he would have used the same technique with Mulroney or any other candidate who broached the subject. Sometimes someone’s worst weakness is also their greatest strength.

Related posts:

1. Martin vs. Chretien….The Final Curtain? So Denis Coderre is the latest casualty in the internecine...
2. “You Can’t Sink a Howe”: Optimism Among Political Leaders in Canadian History Martin Seligman is a leader in the positive psychology movement....
3. Do Canadians Want Their Electoral System Reformed? Our parliamentary system is constituted in such a way that...
4. Canadian Politics And The Media These days, Canadian politics is dominated by a surge of...
5. Stephen Harper Has Proven Again That Political Experience and Political Toughness matters:Machiavelli Would be Proud In an earlier posting, I had discussed why certain politicians...

Tags: brian mulroney, canadian politics, counterfactual history, jean chretien

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Federal Election, Federal Government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.