My Years as Prime Minister. By Jean Chrétien. Knopf Canada, 2007.

Chrétien’s memoirs, with helpful insights about daily work, leadership, world politics, the media, etc.

I bought this book for $2 at a library sale. It was worth a more than that, but was certainly not one of the best books I’ll read this year.

It did boost my appreciation of his government (which lasted from when I was in grade 5 until I was in university). He came and spoke at my High School, and I wasn’t very impressed. But reading his book, he says that his goal had been simply to be a competent leader of our country (not flashy, not great), and if his perception of things is at all accurate, it seems he accomplished that. It’s a good ambition to have as a leader.

What will stick with me:

1. His description of his daily life. He exercised every morning, kept his regular meetings to their time-limits and agendas, and read documents at home in the evenings while listening to Classical music. He says he always strove to keep his desk clean, since a cluttered desk is a symptom of indecision. Once he was too tired to read documents carefully, then he would finish his evenings by reading biographies or history books from Europe or the USA: anything Canadian was too close to home and prevented him from relaxing. This was a good description of why I found this such a relaxing book to read at the ends of my days this past couple of weeks, too.
2. His disdain for “holier-than-thou” politicians from the religious right. Although he does honour some conservative-minded people (on issues of same-sex marriage, etc.), he names others whose lives were not consistent with their agendas. That’s good motivation to try to live a humble and consistent life if I’m going to disagree with people like Chrétien on moral issues.
3. His view of his own religious identity. He says the he is a Roman Catholic, but that he was not elected as a Roman Catholic. Thus, he implies that the moral commands of his “faith” should not involve themselves in his governing. (Page 390) That sounds reasonable, until you actually think about it. It seems he is saying that his Christianity is true but only in the “religious” compartment of his life, which is completely separate from the political and “real” parts of his work. I might be wrong, but I don’t think that’s consistent. If he wants right-wingers to be consistent, then he should also aim for consistency himself.
4. His view of the media. After the Liberals lost power, it seemed like the media longed for the good old days in response to Stephen Harper’s uncooperative attitude toward them. However, Chrétien has some very strong things to say against the media in chapter 9, “But Who Watches the Dog?” He argues that numerous times, issues got either blown up or ignored, depending on whether the media needed a big story at the moment. The media, it seems, it not the best place to get a clear view of reality. Which leads me to…

My conclusion: It is very helpful to read these kinds of memoirs and biographies of politicians, once there is much less for them to gain or lose, and once there has been some time for dust to settle. Also, a full-length book is a more robust form of expression than the short media-clips upon which we more often form our political opinions.