The pen as dagger

摘要

Between them Brian Mulroney, a Conservative, and Jean Chretien, a Liberal, governed Canada for almost two decades until 2003, a period of sweeping changes. But in their respective memoirs, published within days of each other this autumn, the main revelations concern the depth of their loathing for their political opponents. The difference is that in Mr Chretien's case these were in his own party.rnIn a story that echoes the rivalry between Britain's Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Mr Chretien, a skilful political operator, blames Paul Martin, his successful finance minister, for forcing him out of office. Mr Chretien savages his successor for over-reacting to a scandal over a government marketing campaign by appointing a public enquiry rather than treating it as a police matter. He believes that this unfairly dragged his people through the mud as well as losing the Liberals the 2006 election. He also blames on Mr Martin's dithering the relocation of Canadian troops in Afghanistan from the relative safety of Kabul to the killing fields of Kandahar.