I fear many people will deliberately choose not to read Brian
Mulroney's Memoirs. After all, this former Prime Minister remains
one of the most polarizing political leaders in our history. But
like him or not, this is a book that absolutely should be read. To
begin with, Mulroney is nothing if not a great story teller and
this autobiography reads like a fast-paced novel - 1100 pages and
hardly a boring passage.
But more than an engaging and profoundly human recounting of a
fascinating life, Memoirs is a deeply engrossing look at leadership
including the inevitable flaws and vulnerabilities of men and women
who seek power. It is also a great sweep through the life as
Canadians lived it from the late 50's through to the 90's - a
period during which the world reshaped itself in so many ways.
Mulroney begins with his childhood in Baie Commeau, Quebec. It was
there that the emotional seeds were planted for much of who
Mulroney would become. An anglophone in a French town, it wasn't
long before Brian became fully bilingual, not just in language but
in his heart. From childhood, he believed that francophones and
anglophones were meant to live side by side and interdependently,
and this belief, born in childhood experience, influenced his life
in every way. As the son of a factory worker, he knew too well the
importance of honest, fair and open dealings with all employees,
and the potential devastation which could be wreaked if this was
not the case. The blue-collar empathy he developed as a young boy
never left him. Nor did the discipline for hard work and
competitive spirit that comes from growing up in a small town -
where the hockey rink, streetscape and summer mill work all
intersect. But if Baie Comeau shaped his soul, we learn it was at
St. Francis Xavier University where Mulroney was first introduced
to, and fell in love with, politics.
How his personal combination of fighting spirit, prodigious work
ethic, empathy, and passion for politics came to shape several
chapters of Canadian history is what Memoirs is really about. We
are with him as a young man as he works his way up, and then
demonstrates leadership, as a card-carrying member of the
Conservative Party. We are with him through critical labour
negotiations, including his role in the famous Cliche Royal
Commission where he so distinguished himself. We live with him as
he takes the mantle of CEO at Iron Ore and successfully turns the
company around. And we are brought into his personal life,
including his famously close relationship with his wife.
We also are privy to his struggle with booze; the hurt that turns
to resentment and anger when he is betrayed by friends and
political colleagues (most famously Pierre Elliott Trudeau); and
the very deep bond between Brian and Mila.
As Mulroney builds his story around quotes taken directly from the
personal diaries he kept while in office, directly from his private
diaries, we gain insight into the man, his accomplishments and
failures. It is an image often at odds with the one created by the
Press. To be sure, anyone who would cite the famous line "let's
roll the dice" as an indication that Mulroney was cavalier about
the importance of bringing Quebec into the constitution need only
read the chapters on Meech to know how wrong this view would be.
One could argue that rarely has a Prime Minister been as prepared
to hold office in this country as Mulroney. The real question
raised by his deeply personal memoir is: How is it that this man
who brought us free trade, the financial benefits of the GST, an
advanced agenda on environmental issues, pride in the role Canada
played in helping South Africa re-welcome Mandela, and who achieved
back-to-back record-breaking majorities, still stir up such mixed
reactions?
Memoirs is one of the great political autobiographies. It is a
must-read for anyone interested in a truly fascinating story.