You Can't Lead From Behind

There are two basic tenets of Leadership (I made it upper case "L" on purpose) that I learned many years ago:

1. Lead by example, and
2. You can't Lead from behind.

In the political mess that is happening in Canada these days, there has been little of either lately...until today!

Let me start with the top. Prime Minister Harper has shown little of either even before election day in October 2008. During the election campaign, he denied Canada was going into recession and that there was no need for Canada to go into deficit to get the country moving again. The Conservatives formed a minority government and Canadians heard from their Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, that there will be a "technical" recession, but that Canada will have a small surplus. Prime Minister Harper stated on election night, and again in the Throne Speech, that he was reaching out to the opposition parties to work with them to help Canada through these tough economic times. Instead, Mr. Harper came out with an economic statement that was widely regarded as regressive to Canadian rights and a blatant attack on the finances of the opposition parties, yet had nothing that would stimulate the Canadian economy. He had his head in the sand.

The independent Parliamentary Budget Chief confirmed that there will be a deficit this year. The Bank of Canada reduced their prime rate by 75 points (0.75%), which was 25 points more than economists expected, because of the Bank of Canada's fear of a deepening recession. Yet, the Conservatives have not introduced any significant economic stimulus (aside from their "tax breaks" since becoming the governing party in 2006), and Parliament has been suspended until the end of January 2009, when the Conservatives are expected to introduce their budget, albeit two months early.

Cap all of this off with an economic crisis that turned into a political crisis, because the opposition parties formed a coalition to counter the Conservatives, with Prime Minister Harper getting proroguement of Parliament from the Governor General. And Prime Minister Harper raising the rhetoric by making all of this a unity crisis because the coalition includes the Bloc Quebecois, a Quebec sovereignty party.

One last thing about Prime Minister Harper, if he was really concerned about the economy. If he really wanted reduce the cost the political parties were exacting from the public purse, then why did he appoint 38 cabinet ministers, six more than he had prior to the election, with their higher salaries, additional staff and perks like limos for their use? These are not the actions of someone who Leads from the front, or by example.

But let us not forget the Liberal Party. Their divisions go back to when Paul Martin was making his bid to replace Jean Chretien as leader several years ago. There was bitterness between both camps that went beyond Mr. Martin's ascension to Prime Minister, until at least his downfall, if not after. And it appears as if more of this was going on as supporters tried to get Mr. Ignatieff elected as leader during the last leadership race that Stephane Dion won, and possibly again as the race heated up to replace Mr. Dion.

Canadians only have to look to their neighbours south of the border to see a real example of Leadership. President-elect Obama suffered many political attacks from within the Democratic party, as he sought to be the Democratic candidate for the 2008 election. Mr. Obama suffered further attacks as he faced off against the Republican candidate John McCain, to win the election. Did President-elect Obama show vindictiveness towards his political foes? Is he waiting to be inaugurated to tackle the economic crisis in America?

President-elect Obama has reached out to his opponents, in order to work with them to do what's best for Americans. He made his Democratic Party leadership foe Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State. The President's representative to foreign nations. He retained Mr. Gates as the Secretary of Defence, a Republican, to ensure continuity while America fights in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has invited Mr. McCain for discussions, to work with him. He has announced his planning of an economic stimulus package to get the American economy moving again. Something he can't actually implement until he is inaugurated on January 20th. These are the actions of a Leader.

What a sorry state Canadian politics are in at this time. The one bright spot is Bob Rae. Today he announced that he was withdrawing from the Liberal Leadership race and is putting his full support behind Mr. Ignatieff to become the new Liberal leader, so that the party (and coalition) can prepare for the resumption of Parliament. This is a man who has had many years in political life. He lead the Ontario NDP, became premier and went into federal politics with the obvious intention of becoming the Liberal leader, and possibly Prime Minister, which would have been the crowning achievement of his political career. In the best interests of the party, the country and the Canadian people, he has stepped down, thus potentially ending the possibility for him to become the leader of the party (because of his age).

Bob Rae is a man who not only Leads from the front, he leads by example!

Many politicians can learn from Mr. Rae...including Prime Minister Harper.

Wings Over The World