Winds of Change was the slogan of the old Unite the Right post Mulroney Conservative movement in Western Canada attempting to realign the Reform Party of the time with the remainder of the Mulroney Tories they had just decimated in the 1988 election.
After Monday night the headlines in the papers in Canada and around the world were a Deja Vu. Canada Changes Course.
I just can't come to say it. Nope just can't. Can't say Prime Minister Harper. But apparently I don't have to. Cause the first thing the Harper did was wrap himself up with the old Mulroney Team.
OTTAWA – Statement by Prime Minister elect Stephen Harper:
“The Conservative transition team will be led by Derek H. Burney, who served previously as Canada's Ambassador to the United States and as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Mr. Burney will be assisted by a group with extensive experience in government. Their main objective will be to ensure a smooth transition from the outgoing to the incoming administration.”
Welcome Back Prime Minister Mulroney.
My Blahg has more on the nasty Mr. Burney and the transition he promises.
With Mr. Burney at the helm Steven Harper will become Mulroney-Too, and that will make the U.S. very happy. Actually it already has.
Canada Moves to Join the Great Club of Relevance: Amity ShlaesWhite House looks for closer ties with CanadaPress Briefing by Scott McClellanQ This morning there was a program at the American Enterprise Institute on the election in Canada. And Stephen Harper was just elected Prime Minister. And three former members of the administration -- David Frum, who was a presidential speechwriter, Roger Noriega, who was an assistant Secretary of State, and Phil Swagel, who was chief of staff for the White House Council of Economic Advisors -- discussed the softwood lumber dispute. And they all agreed that the U.S., they said, acted like a rogue nation in this dispute, that the U.S. is in the wrong. And I'm wondering if the administration would agree with that, and if we might see some resolution of the softwood lumber dispute now that we have a new leader in Canada.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, let me offer our congratulations to the new government that is taking place, taking form in Canada. We congratulate the Conservative Party and Stephen Harper on the victory. We have had a strong and broad relationship with Canada, and we look forward to working with the new government to strengthen our relations even more. So we offer our congratulations.
In terms of the softwood lumber issue, this is something that we've had a disagreement over. The President has discussed it on a number of occasions when he's met with the Prime Minister there. And we are continuing to work to try to bring it to a resolution and that's what we will -- that's what we are committed to doing.
Q Scott, this morning you said that President Bush would call the Prime Minister from Canada, Stephen Harper. Can you give us an update --
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I don't have an update on that. I expect he will be calling him soon to offer him his congratulations and say that he looks forward to working with him.
Q Can you give us -- there's a bit of a sense in Canada that this conservative government in Canada will be better able to work with the conservative Bush administration. Can you just give us a historical significant comment on --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we've had a good working relationship with Canada for a long time. There are many areas where we have worked closely together with the government. We look forward to working with the new government and strengthening those ties even more. I'm not going to try to compare one administration to the next. We congratulate Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party on their victory, and look forward to working with them.
Q Could the fact that they have a very short minority government be a problem? Could that force Stephen Harper to adopt a stronger, tougher attitude --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's getting into internal politics inside Canada. I'll leave that analysis to others.
Tags
Canada
Federal Election
Politics
Harper
Mulroney
Canadian Election
Derek Burney
Conservatives
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