20-09-2009, 05:28 AM
OTTAWA–Prime Minister Stephen Harper will publicly reach out to Brian Mulroney, and by extension his Tory predecessor's powerful sphere of influence, in a video to be shown this week at a gala.
Sources close to the event tell The Canadian Press that Harper recorded a congratulatory message to be aired tomorrow at the celebration of Mulroney's historic 1984 electoral victory at the helm of the Progressive Conservative party.
The video will represent Harper's first gesture of solidarity with Mulroney in two years.
Harper can't attend the event because he will be delivering a speech in New York City that night, but insiders say it's doubtful Mulroney would want him there anyway.
Relations between the two men have been severely strained since Harper launched a public inquiry into Mulroney's business dealings with German lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber and directed his cabinet to cut off contact with the former prime minister in 2007.
Staff in Harper's office were dispatched to quietly and anonymously advise reporters that Mulroney was no longer a member of the party in what was seen as a clumsy attempt to distance Harper from Mulroney as the inquiry unfolded.
That inflamed tensions in the caucus, where a number of politicians loyal to Mulroney pushed back against the Harper entourage.
Now barely six weeks after the inquiry stopped hearing from witnesses, and the threat of an election hanging overhead, Harper's office is working with organizers to transmit a message of party unity.
"Mulroney is still a significant figure in Canadian public life," said Conservative historian Bob Plamondon. "He still maintains connections with a substantial chunk of the Conservative coalition."
Sources close to the event tell The Canadian Press that Harper recorded a congratulatory message to be aired tomorrow at the celebration of Mulroney's historic 1984 electoral victory at the helm of the Progressive Conservative party.
The video will represent Harper's first gesture of solidarity with Mulroney in two years.
Harper can't attend the event because he will be delivering a speech in New York City that night, but insiders say it's doubtful Mulroney would want him there anyway.
Relations between the two men have been severely strained since Harper launched a public inquiry into Mulroney's business dealings with German lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber and directed his cabinet to cut off contact with the former prime minister in 2007.
Staff in Harper's office were dispatched to quietly and anonymously advise reporters that Mulroney was no longer a member of the party in what was seen as a clumsy attempt to distance Harper from Mulroney as the inquiry unfolded.
That inflamed tensions in the caucus, where a number of politicians loyal to Mulroney pushed back against the Harper entourage.
Now barely six weeks after the inquiry stopped hearing from witnesses, and the threat of an election hanging overhead, Harper's office is working with organizers to transmit a message of party unity.
"Mulroney is still a significant figure in Canadian public life," said Conservative historian Bob Plamondon. "He still maintains connections with a substantial chunk of the Conservative coalition."