The Shawinigan Fox: How Jean Chr?©tien Defied the Elites and Reshaped Canada. Bob Plamondon

• Тип: Текст
• Автор: Bob Plamondon
• Издательство: Ingram(2020)
• ISBN: 9781456629083
• Язык: Английский

• Жанры: Историческая литература, Биографии и мемуары

Jean Chr?©tien's critics have said he was a man with no vision and a short attention span – a small-town hick who stumbled his way to become Canada's 20th prime minister. Whatever credit the Chr?©tien government deserved was often given to Paul Martin, the heir apparent who was touted to be the brains behind the operation.<br><br>But while Chretien was the subject of ridicule, he was quietly giving his competitors – both inside and outside of the Liberal party – a master class in politics, leadership and nation-building. <br>His decisions, which often ran counter to elite opinion, fundamentally reshaped and strengthened Canada as it entered the 21st century. Chr?©tien restored sanity to government finances, kept Canada out of the Iraq war, turned a brain drain into a brain gain, and established clarity over national unity. <br><br>Relying on new evidence, detailed analysis and exclusive interviews with former cabinet ministers, provincial premiers, political staff, strategists, and high-ranking bureaucrats – many of them speaking publicly for the first time – bestselling author and historian Bob Plamondon tells the surprising inside story of the Chretien years, including: what Chretien would have done if the 1995 referendum had ended in a vote for separation; why Paul Martin secretly threatened to resign in 1995, seven years before he actually quit; who tried to convince Chretien to join the Iraq war and why he could not be intimidated into joining the US-led coalition; why a lifelong Liberal was the most conservative prime minister in Canadian history; the shocking details of the Chretien-Martin feud and the only time an elected Canadian prime minister has been overthrown<br><br>Until now, the story of Chretien's time as prime minister has been largely misunderstood. Plamondon sets the record straight and provides compelling lessons about political leadership and problem-solving from a critical chapter in Canadian history.<br>