Eye of the storm
Peter C. Newman speaks about his controversial new book
Quentin Mills-Fenn

Peter C. Newman admits he was expecting some buzz on the publication of his new book, but the size and content of the controversy surprised even him.

The Secret Mulroney Tapes (Random House Canada) caused a storm on the day of its release. Even now the chatter is still going strong.

The book is the story of a prime minister and his circle, told largely in their own words. Newman provides context and commentary, but if there’s any hanging going on it was Mulroney who brought the rope.

“I knew it would create a fuss because this kind of book has never been done before, and won’t again,” Newman says, laughing. “But, I thought people would argue about what’s in the book, not how it was written.

“It’s an unusual book. I don’t think anyone has had that access,” he adds, explaining how the book came to be. “I had 98 interviews over 20 hours while he (Mulroney) was in office.”

One of Canada’s most trenchant and published political observers, Newman has hardly spoken to Mulroney or his wife, Mila, since 1995. But, even before Mulroney was elected prime minister, he wanted Newman to write the story of his time in office. Certainly the finished book isn’t what author nor subject had in mind at the outset, but Newman did spend a lot of time with the guy.

In these pages, Mulroney is smart, funny, profane and always willing to say a mean word about one of numerous political enemies: John Turner, Lucien Bouchard, Jean Chrétien and Pierre Trudeau. He also rails at the media, which he believed was always set against him. He’s our Nixon. Even Nixon, though, had his reputation somewhat rehabilitated (after his death, mind you).

Mulroney has a long list of charges against him: the GST, Free Trade, the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords, the CF-18 contract controversy — all these issues still rankle many, years after the fact. Still, Newman believes Mulroney was despised not so much for his policies as for his style. The limousines, the Gucci loafers, the arrogance: Mulroney enjoyed being PM and made sure everybody knew it. And, even if his governments were rife with scandals and patronage appointments, Mulroney claims throughout the book that he wasn’t any worse than anyone else.

“He always got blamed for everything bad,” Newman says. “Look at the GST. But when we think about it, Chrétien came along and used the GST to balance the budget — and he’s the hero.

“I’ve been writing about prime ministers since St. Laurent. That’s nine prime ministers,” Newman adds. “People laughed at Diefenbaker. People laughed at Clark, but no one hated him. But this man (Mulroney) is hated. I don’t know why. He wasn’t that bad.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? He still bugs us. My theory is, it’s not what he did but how he did it. All the boasts, the American-style prime minister.”

Mulroney told Newman that he didn’t want a puff piece; he wanted the real story told. He seems to have changed his mind about that. Still, Newman hasn’t published a hatchet job. The portrait he came up with is tough but fair.

“People want only heroes and villains,” Newman says. “Brian Mulroney is not a villain to me.”