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Iron Man: The Defiant Reign of Jean Chretien
Book by Lawrence Martin
468 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
98 people want to read
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Lawrence Martin
8 books4 followersLibrarian's note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. This is Lawrence^^Martin.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 15, 2024
This is a decent shot at narrating Jean Cretien’s ten years as Canada’s prime minister from 1993 to 2003. It has all the highlights: the scandals, the 1995 referendum, 9/11 and how that affected Canada, and much more. Cretien won three majority governments in a row, more than any other Liberal Prime Minister had ever done. The portrait of Cretien that emerges is more of a counterpuncher than an initiator, not a person much on rhetoric or inspiration, more interested in politics as a sport than for policy. He may have been Canada’s most popular prime minister, but he was not the most consequential.
Unlike his genial public image, there is a portrait of Cretien as a partisan man from a small town who was looked down on by the elites for his bumptious ways, and who gave it right back to them. He had a chip on his shoulder. He played politics to win because he loved the game. He loved to show the polished people from the big cities that he was just as good as them. In fact, he was better, because he was the boss. Remember when he grabbed the protestor by the face? In private, he often did that to people, figuratively rather than literally. When he was criticized for the RCMP pepper spraying protestors at an APEC conference in Vancouver, he quipped, “I put a little pepper on my plate.” He had a glare. He could send chills running up and down an MPs spine with a look.
This quality of Cretien's was most on display in his war with Paul Martin. Martin lost a heated leadership battle for the head of the Liberal Party to Cretien in 1990. Although they did not like each other, Cretien put Martin in the important Minister of Finance portfolio, the number two position in the government, during the entire time he was Prime Minister. They rarely spoke directly as their intermediaries negotiated on their behalf. As time went on, particularly after Cretien’s third election win, the in-fighting between them and their intermediaries became ever more intense. Finally, as Cretien lost support and Martin won it in the party, Cretien resigned before the next election. He was not defeated by the Canadian people but from within his own party.
Politically, Cretien was a man of the center. After being a cabinet minister in economically nationalist Liberal governments in the 1970s, he led the party to embrace NAFTA and globalization in 1990. When he realized the extent of the fiscal crisis Canada faced in 1993, he and Paul Martin embraced fiscal austerity. Still, he embraced traditional liberal stands. He cut back on military spending and led the efforts to embrace an international anti-land mine treaty. Environmental legislation was strengthened and new national parks were created. He set the ground work for the legalization of gay marriage in Canada.
He got along famously with President Clinton, but he looked down on the Americans for their lack of gun control, their lack of a national health insurance plan, and the corruption of the political class. He had an effective relationship with President Bush after 9/11 as Canada took care of thousands of airplanes that could not land in the United States and then sent thousands of Canadian soldiers to help in Afghanistan. But he wasn’t afraid to stand up to him either. Canada did not participate in the invasion of Iraq and criticized the Americans for doing so.
Canada’s number one, eh? Cretien took on the separatists three times and won. The first time is out of the scope of this book, when he was Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s Justice Minister during the 1980 referendum. The second time occurred in the 1995 Quebec Referendum. That time the federalists almost lost because Cretien didn’t play hard enough. The Quebec Liberals were playing a double game, more or less going for a gentle separation over time rather than a fast one through a referendum. It wasn’t until the last moment that the feds led the Nos to victory. But Cretien learned his lesson. Best not to give them anything. He got them on the Clarity Act, which forced any future separatists to write a straight question and made sure that even a Yes vote on a referendum would only be the beginning of a negotiation rather than the end. Good for him.
The book is very good on the power of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Canadian politics. Most of the attention is paid to Parliament Hill, but most of the policy is made across the street in the Langevin Bloc. As one member of Cabinet put it, the people in those meetings are often just a bunch of people saying “Yes.” Names that most Canadians had never heard of, such as Francois Ducros, Eddie Goldenberg, Jean Pelletier and Peter Donolo both advised the Prime Minister and kept the troops in line for him. An important Cabinet Minister such as the Minister of Finance or Foreign Affairs might be able to fight against direction from the PMO, but lesser ministers such as the Ministry of Fisheries or the Environment were expected to follow orders and manage their departments.
The Cretien that emerges in this book is a hard-nosed, sagacious political operator. He was first elected in 1963 and sat at the feet of masters. He was very ambitious and ruthless. He liked to play the game of politics and he liked to win. He understood that unless you win, you can’t do anything. His everyman, likable image was for the voters. To rivals, he was ruthless. He was lucky enough to preside over years of a divided opposition, but by the end of his time in power, Canada’ economy was faring much better than the Americans’. I always liked him.
Unlike his genial public image, there is a portrait of Cretien as a partisan man from a small town who was looked down on by the elites for his bumptious ways, and who gave it right back to them. He had a chip on his shoulder. He played politics to win because he loved the game. He loved to show the polished people from the big cities that he was just as good as them. In fact, he was better, because he was the boss. Remember when he grabbed the protestor by the face? In private, he often did that to people, figuratively rather than literally. When he was criticized for the RCMP pepper spraying protestors at an APEC conference in Vancouver, he quipped, “I put a little pepper on my plate.” He had a glare. He could send chills running up and down an MPs spine with a look.
This quality of Cretien's was most on display in his war with Paul Martin. Martin lost a heated leadership battle for the head of the Liberal Party to Cretien in 1990. Although they did not like each other, Cretien put Martin in the important Minister of Finance portfolio, the number two position in the government, during the entire time he was Prime Minister. They rarely spoke directly as their intermediaries negotiated on their behalf. As time went on, particularly after Cretien’s third election win, the in-fighting between them and their intermediaries became ever more intense. Finally, as Cretien lost support and Martin won it in the party, Cretien resigned before the next election. He was not defeated by the Canadian people but from within his own party.
Politically, Cretien was a man of the center. After being a cabinet minister in economically nationalist Liberal governments in the 1970s, he led the party to embrace NAFTA and globalization in 1990. When he realized the extent of the fiscal crisis Canada faced in 1993, he and Paul Martin embraced fiscal austerity. Still, he embraced traditional liberal stands. He cut back on military spending and led the efforts to embrace an international anti-land mine treaty. Environmental legislation was strengthened and new national parks were created. He set the ground work for the legalization of gay marriage in Canada.
He got along famously with President Clinton, but he looked down on the Americans for their lack of gun control, their lack of a national health insurance plan, and the corruption of the political class. He had an effective relationship with President Bush after 9/11 as Canada took care of thousands of airplanes that could not land in the United States and then sent thousands of Canadian soldiers to help in Afghanistan. But he wasn’t afraid to stand up to him either. Canada did not participate in the invasion of Iraq and criticized the Americans for doing so.
Canada’s number one, eh? Cretien took on the separatists three times and won. The first time is out of the scope of this book, when he was Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s Justice Minister during the 1980 referendum. The second time occurred in the 1995 Quebec Referendum. That time the federalists almost lost because Cretien didn’t play hard enough. The Quebec Liberals were playing a double game, more or less going for a gentle separation over time rather than a fast one through a referendum. It wasn’t until the last moment that the feds led the Nos to victory. But Cretien learned his lesson. Best not to give them anything. He got them on the Clarity Act, which forced any future separatists to write a straight question and made sure that even a Yes vote on a referendum would only be the beginning of a negotiation rather than the end. Good for him.
The book is very good on the power of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Canadian politics. Most of the attention is paid to Parliament Hill, but most of the policy is made across the street in the Langevin Bloc. As one member of Cabinet put it, the people in those meetings are often just a bunch of people saying “Yes.” Names that most Canadians had never heard of, such as Francois Ducros, Eddie Goldenberg, Jean Pelletier and Peter Donolo both advised the Prime Minister and kept the troops in line for him. An important Cabinet Minister such as the Minister of Finance or Foreign Affairs might be able to fight against direction from the PMO, but lesser ministers such as the Ministry of Fisheries or the Environment were expected to follow orders and manage their departments.
The Cretien that emerges in this book is a hard-nosed, sagacious political operator. He was first elected in 1963 and sat at the feet of masters. He was very ambitious and ruthless. He liked to play the game of politics and he liked to win. He understood that unless you win, you can’t do anything. His everyman, likable image was for the voters. To rivals, he was ruthless. He was lucky enough to preside over years of a divided opposition, but by the end of his time in power, Canada’ economy was faring much better than the Americans’. I always liked him.
January 22, 2025
Chretien emerges as a corrupt, power-hungry politician with little philosophical core who was obsessed with slights & score-settling, which the author vacillates between justifying and condemning depending on the circumstance. The fact that Chretien won 3 substance-free elections largely because the opposition could not coalesce should be an indictment of the entire Canadian political system.
November 12, 2019
Fair assessment of this great Canadian.
May 26, 2015
I think this pretty much says it all:
"Of course, for all the brass his other tricks took, none could match the time he faked appendicitis to get out of boarding school in Joliette, then went home and carried on with the sham until he was told he would have to go in for surgery. Faced with a choice between owning up to he truth or going under the knife, Jean Chretien went under the knife. His tiny, perfect appendix was removed."
"Faced with owning up to the truth..." Having read that at the very beginning, I couldn't help but come back to this after all the things he did as Prime Minister. Whether it was not following through on promises like replacing the GST and creating an independent ethics commissioner or thinking there was nothing wrong with the Prime Minister lobbying the head of the Business Development Bank of Canada to support a business in his riding (in which he had invested money); Chretien never admitted to any kind of wrongdoing (or weakness for that matter).
Overall I was pleased with the author's ability to tread the line of showing both the good and the bad of Chretien's time as Prime Minister.
"Of course, for all the brass his other tricks took, none could match the time he faked appendicitis to get out of boarding school in Joliette, then went home and carried on with the sham until he was told he would have to go in for surgery. Faced with a choice between owning up to he truth or going under the knife, Jean Chretien went under the knife. His tiny, perfect appendix was removed."
"Faced with owning up to the truth..." Having read that at the very beginning, I couldn't help but come back to this after all the things he did as Prime Minister. Whether it was not following through on promises like replacing the GST and creating an independent ethics commissioner or thinking there was nothing wrong with the Prime Minister lobbying the head of the Business Development Bank of Canada to support a business in his riding (in which he had invested money); Chretien never admitted to any kind of wrongdoing (or weakness for that matter).
Overall I was pleased with the author's ability to tread the line of showing both the good and the bad of Chretien's time as Prime Minister.
December 7, 2014
I found Lawrence Martin's overall assessment of Chretien at the book to be fascinating. He doesn't pull any punches. One is left to wonder how the next ten years of Canadian government would have turned out differently if Chretien's reign had not been so "defiant," especially in regards to seeking a third term.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews