Twitter’s newest star, @pmharper

Not too long ago, Stephen Harper’s Twitter feed was a stream of canned press releases and announcements ripped from the official Prime Minister’s Office website. But Canada’s 22nd PM is growing wise to the political benefits of communicating with Canadians on Twitter, according to Tim Powers, a conservative communications strategist and vice president at Ottawabased Summa Strategies. The Post’s Sarah Boesveld spoke to Mr. Powers on Monday:

Q: What did you read into the #dayinthelife strategy?

A: From what I understand, the prime minister has signalled to his communications people that he values and appreciates social media and I think he sees it as a tool where you can show some more of yourself. It demonstrates a degree of contemporariness and you can have a bit of fun with it. I think the prime minister gets some pleasure when something happens in the way he communicates that makes people rethink the way they look at him. There’s always a bit of joy that comes to a politician when you catch people off guard and when you throw the type that they project upon you out the window.

Q: Speaking of type, Stephen Harper is known as a control freak. Is this a sign he’s letting loose?

A: He’s showing a bit of humanity and that’s good politics. And the prime minister, as he’s shown at press gallery dinners, has a wicked sense of humour, he does some pretty good impersonations and I think he’s also seeing some of his colleagues around the world that are using this medium. So give him marks for embracing it. I just hope he doesn’t take up celebrity boxing or anything like that, as other leadership aspirants do.

Q: Is he trying to re-invent his Twitter identity with this experiment?

A: I think he’s getting more of a feel for it. Twitter requires a degree of personality. If you’re going to have followers, then it’s the degree of commentary that’s of interest. I think the prime minister and his people — and don’t forget a lot of his people are millennials who use this tool quite frequently — they’re getting through.

Q: He won’t be falling for any Twitter gaffes, will he?

A: He’s still Stephen Harper. He didn’t get into politics for the celebrity element of it. He’s probably come to an accommodation that Twitter isn’t necessarily about celebrity because there’s lots of everyday Canadians on it telling their everyday stories about their lives, so he can play around with that a little more than he maybe would elsewhere and stay true to his mantra that he’s not trying to become Oprah Winfrey.

Q: What was the most telling dispatch Monday?

A: Actually I thought it was the other day when he wished Cabinet Minister Maxime Bernier a ‘Happy Birthday.’ I knew something was up then. How many other people are going to get Happy Birthday messages?