Book explores McKenna's life after politics
Published Thursday November 12th, 2009
McKenna Miracle | Former civil servant pens book on 'the best prime minister we never had'
It's been 12 years since the so-called McKenna Miracle passed into political history in New Brunswick.
But former premier Frank McKenna still casts a long shadow in this province.
The 61-year-old was in the papers again recently with reports he was on the periphery of the controversial $10-billion deal to sell most of the assets of NB Power to Hydro-Quebec.
Former members of F-Troop - as McKenna insiders from the 1990s are known - are making news by heading up some of the public relations companies tasked with trying to convince New Brunswickers the sale is a good idea.
So the timing was perfect for a new book by Harvey Sawler entitled Frank McKenna: Beyond Politics, which looks at what the former premier has been doing in the past decade.
It covers the period after 1997, including when McKenna became a corporate mover and shaker with TD Bank, the Canadian ambassador to the United States, got involved in high-profile humanitarian work in places such as Haiti, and was twice all but offered the keys to federal Liberal party.
In an interview this week, Sawler - a former New Brunswick civil servant - said he has always wanted to write a book about McKenna.
"I just felt with all the buzz going on with the leadership and the situation in Washington, the time was right," he said. "I was curious."
Sawler said the endless interest in McKenna is because of his unique experience in politics and business, and that he was never defeated at the polls.
Instead, he left after 10 years in office at the height of his power - which is exactly what he promised to do, Sawler said.
"He has this clean and popular image," said Sawler. "People want to have heroes in their lives."
Sawler had unfettered access to McKenna and his personal papers for this book. He also interviewed a lot of bigwigs, including former prime ministers Paul Martin, Jean Chretien and Brian Mulroney.
Former U.S. president Bill Clinton contributed a blurb on the back cover.
Even movie star Matt Damon, who got to know McKenna through the charity OneXOne, is quoted.
In general, the book is a flattering portrayal of McKenna.
Sawler said he didn't go digging for dirt on McKenna.
"The book has some reasonably good analysis," he said. "In terms of people being really negative about him on the personal level, I never encountered that."
But not everyone in the book is a big fan of "the best prime minister we never had."
Former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice snubbed McKenna when he went to present his credentials as Canada's ambassador because the Martin government fumbled the proposed ballistic missile defence plan and didn't join the attack on Iraq.
Roger Noriega, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, describes McKenna, in very diplomatic terms, as a straight shooter, but "I think just a tad more candid than I might have been comfortable being."
Former Canadian ambassador Allan Gotlieb criticizes McKenna for his pro-business strategy in Washington and for underestimating the importance of security issues to Americans.
Then there's also the case of the famous "off-the-cuff" speech McKenna gave as Canadian ambassador to the Empire Club in Toronto in September 2005, when he described the American government system of checks and balances as dysfunctional.
Many might argue that's true, but it's not something usually suggested publicly by ambassadors.
David Jones, editor of the Hill Times, scolded McKenna for confusing frankness with insult, and McKenna ended up apologizing to American ambassador David Wilkins afterwards.
The chapters on why McKenna didn't run for the leadership of the federal Liberals and to be prime minister of Canada will fascinate political junkies.
"I think the first time in 2006, he really thought about it seriously," said Sawler. "So many people asked him to think about it seriously."
But in 2008, after then Liberal leader Stephane Dion lost the federal election and the calls for McKenna to run started again, he knew he didn't want to do it, said the author.
In the book, Sawler describes the list of pros and cons McKenna drew up when he was considering the job in 2006 and 2008. The cons list is a lot longer than the pros list.
"McKenna says he would have gone for the job if not for the campaigning, the daunting party-rebuilding and the prospect of winding up in a minority government for several years," wrote Sawler.
Others in the book, including Mulroney, said McKenna was spooked by his role in the Meech Lake Accord and how that would play in Quebec.
Sawler quotes Ottawa Citizen writer Susan Riley as saying Micahel Ignatieff would be a better prime minister.
She wrote that McKenna, as prime minister, would "make Canada the call centre capital of the world."
Sawler said he doesn't believe McKenna has any regrets.
"He finds what he is doing very gratifying."
Sawler said McKenna told him he would only return to politics if the country was in crisis.
McKenna and Sawler are scheduled to attend a book signing at the Chapters bookstore in Dieppe on Friday from 6-8 p.m.
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