I saw first hand how Brian Mulroney led by example, in the spotlight and in private

If you want to make your mark on the world, tackle the tough issues. Do the right thing, not the easy thing. Learn from Brian Mulroney and you’ll live a life of consequence.

Today’s Substack offering comes with a twist! Readers of The Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper, already have this particular post in their “inbox.” Although I’ve had the pleasure of being a Star Paperboy, subject of a Boris Spremo shoot and a Star Photo Stringer, all before the age of 15, it’s somehow taken me 58 years to get around to writing an actual piece for publication. You can buy the hardcopy tomorrow.

Looking for a role model in life? Young Canadians could do worse than follow the path blazed by former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Love and honour your family. Be a loyal and steadfast friend. Seek out new friends and experiences. Own up to your mistakes. Comfort others when they’re down. Find a soulmate and always “dance with the one that brung ya.” Play to your strengths. Let others shine. Live a life of consequence. 

I’ve had the good fortune to work with some very talented and powerful people in my life; all of whom said they wanted to make a difference for their stakeholders. As time passes, I’ve come to appreciate that how many in corporate life are incrementalists — more concerned about preserving a career than achieving tangible results. If given the choice between telling the boss what’s best for the business versus “going along to get along,” they’ll take the easy path.

That wasn’t Brian Mulroney. He tackled the tough issues, even if it risked his standing with the voters or key relationships with global peers. Journalists will focus on Mulroney’s legendary relationships with U.S. President’s Reagan and George H.W. Bush, but I’m drawn to the lesson of his dynamic with Margaret Thatcher. 

The first woman to lead a major U.K. political party, Thatcher had already fought the trade unions, privatized key government agencies, won the 1982 Falklands War and survived an IRA assassination attempt by the time Mulroney arrived on the world stage. When Mulroney was first elected PM in 1984, none of us knew how determined he was to finish the job that his idol John Diefenbaker started in 1961 when South Africa was expelled from the Commonwealth.

At every high-level meeting, Canada’s new PM would challenge Thatcher to join him in pressuring South Africa to end its apartheid policies. This was a stark change from Pierre Trudeau, who “defended trade and investment” with South Africa according to Carleton University Prof. Linda Freeman, on the assumption that nothing could be done to help South Africa’s Black majority. Nelson Mandela might well have spent another decade in prison if it wasn’t for Brian Mulroney’s “singular” efforts. 

Canada’s current foreign policy tone seems based on cynical domestic electoral considerations. Many of today’s politicians appear to calculate which local ridings will be impacted before taking a stand on this or that global flashpoint.

For the rest of the piece, please hit the link to The Star:

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/i-saw-first-hand-how-brian-mulroney-led-by-example-in-the-spotlight-and-in/article_f11714bc-d80d-11ee-9cd8-9fb49cf5a5bb.html

I couldn’t resist sharing one of my Canadian Press Wire Service photographs from the 1983 P.C. Leadership Convention. What a team they were!

MRM

(this post, as always, is an Opinion Piece)