Come to think of it, the job that Paul Martin did during his two years in the Prime Minister's office was not really all that bad. When it comes down to the crunch, what people mainly want from their government is a good economy. and Canada's economy during Martin's tenure as PM has been good. Canadians can expect prices to climb higher and higher for fuel, oil and natural gas, but this is the result of world conditions for those commodities. Sure, Martin could have lowered the GST on skyrocketing fuel prices but in the end, he and defeated Finance Minister Ralph Goodale were probably right--lowering the GST on gasoline by a cent or two wouldn't have made that much of a difference. To paraphrase the late, great Ronald Reagan, were we worse off under Paul Martin than we were under Jean Chrétien. The short answer is, no.
at his farewell news conference last week, Martin said that he had done a good job and that future historians will look back at his time in office and "marvel" about how Canada had done. While "marvel" may be a little on the optimistic side, nevertheless Canada did not do badly under the tiny reign of the man who spent much of his adult life seeking the reigns of power. But this naturally begs the question that if he did such a wonderful job leading the party that most Canadians want to see in charge of their government, why did he lose to Stephen Harper; a man who has not warmed to Canadians and someone who a lot of people, even those who voted for his party, feel a little uncomfortable with?
The reality is that Paul Martin lost the election, not because of any policies that he imposed on the Canadian public but because of his personal failings and strong character flaws. This is the only explanation for the majority governments of Jean Chrétien turning into a minority government and then to the Official Opposition under the helm of Paul Martin Junior. In the end, adscam had very little effect on the electors at least outside of Quebec.
It became obvious that Martin spent so much time and energy becoming Liberal leader and prime minister, an office that was denied to his father on three occasions, he never gave any thought to what he would do when he came into office. He was much like the mountain climber who reaches the summit and realizes that there is nowhere to go but down. His quest for power for all the wrong reasons became his life. He didn't care about actually having to run Canada.
Other than being the son of Paul Martin Senior, Martin had nothing that qualified him for the job. He lacked the intellect of Pierre Trudeau and the political street smarts of Jean Chrétien. as if frozen when he first came into office, at any given point in time every issue that he dealt with was a "fundamental" issue and everything was a "top priority". He tried to be everything to everybody. His quest to hang on to power at any cost left Jack Layton calling a lot of the shots. Eager to do anything that he had to do in order to remain in power Martin's actions would make the most tyrannical of dictators blush.
Paul Martin's ascent to office was ruthless. With the help of the gang that had surrounded him since the early 1980s, Martin took over Liberal riding associations and began an internal battle with those loyal to Jean Chrétien. It would have worked out well if old Jean had retired and promptly died but the little guy from Shawinigan is very much alive. Those loyal to Chrétien were behind many of the leaks that surfaced during the election campaign that helped banish Martin from the office that he coveted for so long.
Perhaps his greatest personal failing was his absolute and utter contempt for the Canadian people, especially those who disagreed with his "fundamental" vision of Canada. His attempt to portray Stephen Harper as a leader who would turn the armed forces against Canadian citizens and as someone who would take away a woman's right to choose showed just how stupid and scared he thought Canadians are. The man who pinned his entire career on the Charter of Rights and then proposed a constitutional amendment in the course of a debate for no other reason than to illustrate Harper's untrustworthiness didn't fool the unwashed mashes. He overplayed the "Scary Steven" card, completely oblivious to the fact that Canadians were onto him. Martin's weak character and panic at the thought of losing power showed him for what he was--nothing more than Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean on Prozac. He was doing everything he could think of to hold onto power and unlike 2004, more and more Canadians caught onto what a vain and shallow man he is.
Former MP Carolyn Parrish was kicked out of the Liberal caucus for saying that she wouldn't shed any tears if Paul lost the next election. What makes the dry eyed Parrish unique amongst Liberals is not her thinking but the fact that she says what others would not dare say. He won't be missed by what remains of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Paul Martin was right; his two years in office were not all that bad for Canadians. It was his personal failings that brought him down.
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