Mulroney relishes an unprecedented role
Brian Mulroney was quite prepared to discuss what is likely a Canadian political precedent, one in which he plays a starring role, but first he had to correct the question.
Specifically, he was asked whether he could cite a precedent in which a former prime minister was used by a government of a different political stripe as an unofficial trade and U.S. emissary, using his or her “experience, expertise, and, I suppose, stature.”
“What do you mean, you suppose?’’ Mulroney interjected with a familiar baritone laugh. “You can delete that from the record.”
So, yes, Mulroney is clearly relishing a role conferred on him by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as Canada’s unofficial Trump-whisperer.
Since earlier this spring, Mulroney has been offering Liberals advice privately and publicly on their upcoming NAFTA renegotiation and been helping them navigate the narrows, whirlpools and white water rapids that come with dealing with the Donald Trump administration.
Trudeau has quite smartly used the former Progressive Conservative PM’s experience from negotiating the original bilateral trade deal, and his friendship with Trump and his Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Mulroney has also ramped up his public profile, most recently pronouncing on trade and U.S. relations in a speech at liberal thinktank Canada 2020’s conference in Ottawa.
The unlikely Trudeau-Mulroney alliance on these issues also breaks with long-standing Canadian traditions. Certainly in the past, Liberal prime ministers have turned to former Liberal prime ministers for wise counsel and Conservatives have done likewise, even though Stephen Harper once issued a government-wide edict that Mulroney was persona non grata because of what was finally found to be Mulroney’s inappropriate dealing with discredited former arms industry lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber.
Mulroney hit back, criticizing Harper for his public feud with departing Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, his environmental record and his poor relationship with Barack Obama.
Mulroney has never faded from the public scene, although he has been out of office for a generation.
But his role in helping the Trudeau Liberals merely highlights the stark differences between the U.S., which provides security, funding, offices and staff for its former presidents, and Canada, which often has no idea what to do with former prime ministers, a club with seven members.
Enter informal adviser Mulroney, who says he was approached by a Trudeau team which had put “all its eggs in Hillary (Clinton’s) basket and woke up the next morning and realized they knew no one on the other side.”
Mulroney said the Trudeau government was not alone in the centre-left expecting a Clinton win and “wanted it to happen in the worst way.”
But a quick look at the size and the enthusiasm of the Trump rallies, compared to the “anemic” size and enthusiasm level of Clinton’s rallies probably should have given Trudeau’s team pause, he maintained.
Still, he says, there is no reason for Canadians to be worried about Trump.
“No, why should we worry?” he asks.
I suggested the man was capable of tweeting the world into a war.
From Mulroney: “Don’t take the bait!
“That’s just Donald being Donald. He’s unorthodox and unusual, yes, but that’s why the American people voted for him.
“Americans were fed up to the teeth of the politics and the way that everything had to be triple-polled before they got any answers.
“Do I find dealing with him the same as operating with Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush or Bill Clinton? No. But should we worry? No.”
On the coming trade negotiations, which can begin in August, Mulroney expects a Trump administration to be tough and resilient, bring- ing to the table its enormous economic strength, seeking their slice of the pie.
But he is sure Canada will hold its own and expects an enhanced and modernized trade agreement because it is something the U.S., Canada and Mexico all need.
He believes the Trudeau government is ready. He is impressed with Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. And he believes Ottawa will be able to say “no” during negotiations when it must.
In the meantime, he has counselled the Trudeau team to keep their heads down and their mouths shut and “prepare, prepare, prepare.”
As Mulroney says, there is no Conservative way or Liberal way to negotiate such a trade deal, and that is a message taken up by Canada’s premiers. They have made the pilgrimage to the U.S. capital to push the Canadian case, and this teamwork in a business marked by partisanship should serve this country well. Tim Harper writes on national affairs. tjharper77@gmail.com, Twitter: @nutgraf1