Harper Has Another Public Tantrum

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is quickly becoming a national embarrassment. Right after he took office, he announced that all public statements by his ministers would be vetted through his office first and, further muzzling their ability to speak freely, he set a policy that would see them speaking only about his five priorities. There have been some who have not played by the rules but the rest of the lap dogs are following their master's wishes.

Earlier this month, when Harper realized that his choice to head the new Public Appointments Commission, Gwynn Morgan, would not be accepted, Harper decided to throw the baby out with the bathwater by killing the commission itself.

He also barred the press from covering the return of caskets of soldiers from Afghanistan, echoing a Bush policy. The family of one of those soldiers, Nichola Goddard, who was the most recent casualty in that war have decided to hold a very public funeral in Calgary on Friday in a clear statement of opposition to Harper's new policy.

Beyond that, he allowed a quick debate in parliament last week to discuss extending Canada's mission in Afghanistan but then promptly announced that if he didn't get his way - a two year commitment - he would extend the mission for one year, despite the outcome of the parliamentary vote.

Today, following the boycott of several Ottawa press people of his briefings due to Harper's decision to only call on those who would appear on a select list, he decided that 'the national media are biased against him' and 'he will avoid them from now on', choosing instead to take his propaganda campaign on the road to local media.

He told a London, Ont., TV station Wednesday that he is having problems with the media that a Liberal prime minister would never have to face.

So Harper says he will take his message out on the road and deal with the less hostile local media.

"Unfortunately the press gallery has taken the view they are going to be the opposition to the government,'' Harper told London's A-Channel.

"They don't ask questions at my press conferences now.

"We'll just take the message out on the road. There's lots of media who do want to ask questions and hear what the government is doing.''

Two dozen Ottawa reporters walked out on a Harper event this week when he refused to take their questions.

The prime minister does not want to hold press conferences unless his staff gets to pick which journalists ask questions.

The Ottawa press gallery has refused to play by those rules.

There's no doubt about it: this is a man with serious control issues who obviously needs therapy.

His 'all or nothing' method of dealing with issues is indicative of the mindset of many Conservatives who are only able to think in black and white terms, but this man is the Prime Minister of Canada. Imagine how this behaviour will affect Canadians in the days to come if his knee-jerk reactions continue to be the driving force behind his decisions. Can he actually be trusted to do what the leader of our country ought to do: apply rationality and an ability to compromise? Obviously, it appears he is incapable of such statesmanlike behaviour and that is a very dangerous proposition for Canadians.

We are fortunate that his is only a minority government, but the opposition parties must be far more forceful than they have been to this point if they intend to stop this man from destroying the very fabric of what Canada is: a country that expects its leader to emulate dignity, integrity and patience.

'Peace, order and good government' cannot be left in the hands of an impulsive man who refuses to think before he acts. As he attempts to behave like the strict disciplinarian father he believes himself to be, he finds himself acting as the petulant child he so opposes. That conflict runs deep. And, when it is present in a country's leader, what is needed is a system of checks and balances that ensure he will not be allowed to wreak havoc in what will hopefully be a very short stay at 24 Sussex Drive.

If Harper was paranoid about the national media being against him before this point, he's just ensured that his tantrum today will make that belief a self-fulfilling prophecy.