Clarkson Bits & Pieces
Post
16/09/06, Margaret Wente, Mme. Clarkson settles a few scores, (Source).
18/09/06, Letters, (Source).
16/09/06, Margaret Wente, Mme. Clarkson settles a few scores, (Back).
From constitutionally ignorant prime ministers to critics of her circumpolar tour, the ex-GG spills the beans.
You'll be seeing a lot of Adrienne Clarkson in the next few months. She'll be all across the country flogging her memoirs, Heart Matters. Rumour has it that her book deal, negotiated by ubiquitous über-agent Michael Levine, is lucrative enough to keep her dressed in Issey Miyake for a very long time.
In her book, the former governor-general compares herself to both Tolstoy and Simone de Beauvoir, praises the culture and refinement of various visiting dictators, and reveals her profound admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. She also takes swings at those whom she cordially (or not so cordially) detests, most notably the constitutionally ignorant Paul Martin and his unelected band of ill-dressed thugs. (Her descriptions, not mine.) She slams the "ignorant and malicious" people who dared to criticize her controversial circumpolar tour, and -- although the name Michaëlle Jean is never mentioned -- leaves the firm impression that she thinks her successor is woefully unqualified for the job.
Meow!
Ex-GGs aren't supposed to kiss (or fight) and tell. They do not generally reveal their opinions about the prime ministers with whom they worked, especially so soon after the fact. As Mme. Clarkson herself once said, a head of state must hold herself "above politics." But the lady has been clearly stung. She has endured the cheapest kind of calumny (her words) for far too long. And now she is going to put those people in their place -- with relish.
Mme. Clarkson is a polarizing figure. But even those who can't stand her concede that she is a remarkable woman -- accomplished, elegant, hard-working, cultured, and exquisitely bilingual. She brought new visibility and stature to the office. So what is it about her that gets up people's nose?
Maybe it's the pervasive air of self-importance. Mme. Clarkson seems to view herself and her husband, John Ralston Saul, as a sort of philosopher queen and king who have an elevated sense of what's best for Canada. As a vice-regal couple, modesty was not their strong suit.
"There was certainly no sharing of any stage," says an insider. "It was a very demanding governor-generalship for Rideau Hall."
The GG's job description is deliberately vague. It's mostly ceremonial, but it's also constitutional. The GG is, of course, the Queen's representative. But the constitutional power of the office has been likened to a fire extinguisher -- you never use it unless the building is on fire. These days, most Canadians would be surprised and disconcerted if any GG pulled the handle. "You're there for the politesse and the grace, and you have to act like the head of state but realize you aren't," one expert says.
Mme. Clarkson reveals that she was ready to use the fire extinguisher. If Paul Martin's new minority government had fallen in its first six months, she would have refused to allow the dissolution of Parliament and another election. This would have been entirely within her rights. But not a few historians are floored that she thought seriously about exercising them. (The last time a GG interfered in politics was in Australia, back in 1975.) "Bizarre," says one.
Mme. Clarkson has a pile of grievances to air against Mr. Martin, whom she portrays as inexperienced and ignorant about the proper relationship between the prime minister and the Queen's representative. Unlike Jean Chrétien, who, she says, would consult her often, Mr. Martin never spoke to her. Unlike Mr. Chrétien, he tried to "Americanize" politics by centralizing power in the hands of unelected officials in the Prime Minister's Office. (Maybe she never heard of Eddie Goldenberg.) Unlike Mr. Chrétien's polished, courtly advisers, Mr. Martin's advisers were a bunch of uncouth slobs. (They showed up at their boss's swearing-in wearing running shoes.) Unlike Mr. Chrétien, who had Beethoven or Mozart playing in the background when he phoned her, Mr. Martin had no interest in culture.
But Mr. Martin's worst sin by far was letting her hang out to dry when she came under attack for her infamous circumpolar tour, which critics called an indulgent, expensive waste of time. Nobody in government would defend her, even though, as she argues, the government itself had asked her to undertake the trip. She's convinced this dreadful injustice was a deliberate effort to deflect public attention from the sponsorship scandal. In her view the incident wasn't simply down-and-dirty politics, but a dangerous betrayal of the Crown itself. In her telling, the government's failure to defend her was nothing less than a threat to Canada. "People lose all sense of moral balance and direction if they don't have a clear idea of what is good for the country," she writes. Translation: Her enemies did not. She did.
Mme. Clarkson herself seldom admits to error. The unfortunate decision to go on television and defend herself, she says, was the result of bad staff advice. When she made the unfortunate declaration that she was "above politics," her critics were to blame for not understanding what she meant. Here's what she meant: "To be 'above politics' is to be able to see the whole field in the way that Tolstoy saw the whole field in describing the Battle of Borodino in War and Peace."
Mme. Clarkson has a keen appreciation of cultural allusions. The ability to carry on a cultivated conversation seems to be her main criterion for passing judgment on the many heads of state she met. Not surprisingly, George W. Bush (who told her he mostly reads the Bible) flunked. Mr. Putin passed gloriously. Oddly enough, she and the despised Mr. Bush have one thing in common: Both were charmed to bits by the ruthless Russian strongman.
There are few tender words for the staff at Rideau Hall, who are depicted as people intransigently opposed to change. (And, to be fair, the place was a dump when she moved in.) But there are many tender words for her husband, whom she obviously adores. "I had always envisaged that John and I would live like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir," she writes. Presumably she means that they would be free spirits and intellectual soulmates, not that she would find beautiful young girls for him to seduce. In any event, she clearly prefers French to English culture. The English worship vacuous celebrity, while the French worship the intelligentsia. "Only in Quebec have I seen that Canadians truly understand that culture is an expression of their highest aspirations as human beings," she writes. "I think there's an unconscious envy of this in the rest of the country."
Mme. Clarkson stresses that everything she and her husband did in office was undertaken for the good of the Crown and Canada. She does not explain why her husband insisted on being addressed as "Your Excellency" (as was his right) and why he had his aides encourage event organizers to have people stand when he entered a room, even when she wasn't there. Some people thought this behaviour was stupefyingly pompous. But maybe it was just French.
Of her successor, Mme. Clarkson says not a word. She doesn't have to. Not when she has pointed out that any qualified GG must have a stellar record of accomplishment, a thorough knowledge of the Constitution, and an intimate understanding of the country. In case you wondered, she makes it plain that she, unlike a certain unnamed person, was thoroughly vetted at the highest levels of the PMO before her appointment. "The job is so important, constitutionally and symbolically, that I know due diligence was carried out," she writes. "They would not take any risk."
In her book, Mme Clarkson sets the record straight on many other matters large and small -- her first marriage and divorce, her troubled mother, her heart problems, her reconciliation with her estranged daughters. Much of her account makes for affecting reading. Yet nowhere is she so self-revelatory as when she's settling scores. Our Adrienne is far too poised and dignified to get mad -- but not at all too dignified to get even.
mwente@globeandmail.com
18/09/06, Letters, (Back).
Mme Clarkson's culture
Rita Griffin-Short, Hamilton -- If more Canadians were of Adrienne Clarkson's ilk, this country, the English part, would be a cultural paradise rather than a cultural wasteland (Mme. Clarkson Settles a Few Scores -- Sept. 16). Gratefully brought up in the heart of old Quebec City, within both an English and French culture, I agree with Ms. Clarkson's view that Quebec has a strong sense of itself.
Moving to Ontario from Montreal in the 1950s was a cultural shock from which I've not yet recovered.
Nick Sopinka, Kimberley, Ontario -- Margaret Wente is typically enlightening and entertaining. According to our former G-G in her memoirs, Heart Matters, "I had always envisaged that John and I would live like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir." This is a startling admission for a former head of state.
First, Simone was one of Sartre's mistresses and procured women for him. Secondly, Jean-Paul was an avowed communist, enamoured of an ideology that claimed millions of victims. Some intellectuals. Some role models.
Robert Marjoribanks, Toronto -- Most Canadians firmly believe that Adrienne Clarkson was the best governor-general we ever had or are likely to have any time soon. Their judgment will not be altered by Margaret Wente's attack.
(Back)
18/09/06, Letters, (Source).
16/09/06, Margaret Wente, Mme. Clarkson settles a few scores, (Back).
From constitutionally ignorant prime ministers to critics of her circumpolar tour, the ex-GG spills the beans.
You'll be seeing a lot of Adrienne Clarkson in the next few months. She'll be all across the country flogging her memoirs, Heart Matters. Rumour has it that her book deal, negotiated by ubiquitous über-agent Michael Levine, is lucrative enough to keep her dressed in Issey Miyake for a very long time.
In her book, the former governor-general compares herself to both Tolstoy and Simone de Beauvoir, praises the culture and refinement of various visiting dictators, and reveals her profound admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. She also takes swings at those whom she cordially (or not so cordially) detests, most notably the constitutionally ignorant Paul Martin and his unelected band of ill-dressed thugs. (Her descriptions, not mine.) She slams the "ignorant and malicious" people who dared to criticize her controversial circumpolar tour, and -- although the name Michaëlle Jean is never mentioned -- leaves the firm impression that she thinks her successor is woefully unqualified for the job.
Meow!
Ex-GGs aren't supposed to kiss (or fight) and tell. They do not generally reveal their opinions about the prime ministers with whom they worked, especially so soon after the fact. As Mme. Clarkson herself once said, a head of state must hold herself "above politics." But the lady has been clearly stung. She has endured the cheapest kind of calumny (her words) for far too long. And now she is going to put those people in their place -- with relish.
Mme. Clarkson is a polarizing figure. But even those who can't stand her concede that she is a remarkable woman -- accomplished, elegant, hard-working, cultured, and exquisitely bilingual. She brought new visibility and stature to the office. So what is it about her that gets up people's nose?
Maybe it's the pervasive air of self-importance. Mme. Clarkson seems to view herself and her husband, John Ralston Saul, as a sort of philosopher queen and king who have an elevated sense of what's best for Canada. As a vice-regal couple, modesty was not their strong suit.
"There was certainly no sharing of any stage," says an insider. "It was a very demanding governor-generalship for Rideau Hall."
The GG's job description is deliberately vague. It's mostly ceremonial, but it's also constitutional. The GG is, of course, the Queen's representative. But the constitutional power of the office has been likened to a fire extinguisher -- you never use it unless the building is on fire. These days, most Canadians would be surprised and disconcerted if any GG pulled the handle. "You're there for the politesse and the grace, and you have to act like the head of state but realize you aren't," one expert says.
Mme. Clarkson reveals that she was ready to use the fire extinguisher. If Paul Martin's new minority government had fallen in its first six months, she would have refused to allow the dissolution of Parliament and another election. This would have been entirely within her rights. But not a few historians are floored that she thought seriously about exercising them. (The last time a GG interfered in politics was in Australia, back in 1975.) "Bizarre," says one.
Mme. Clarkson has a pile of grievances to air against Mr. Martin, whom she portrays as inexperienced and ignorant about the proper relationship between the prime minister and the Queen's representative. Unlike Jean Chrétien, who, she says, would consult her often, Mr. Martin never spoke to her. Unlike Mr. Chrétien, he tried to "Americanize" politics by centralizing power in the hands of unelected officials in the Prime Minister's Office. (Maybe she never heard of Eddie Goldenberg.) Unlike Mr. Chrétien's polished, courtly advisers, Mr. Martin's advisers were a bunch of uncouth slobs. (They showed up at their boss's swearing-in wearing running shoes.) Unlike Mr. Chrétien, who had Beethoven or Mozart playing in the background when he phoned her, Mr. Martin had no interest in culture.
But Mr. Martin's worst sin by far was letting her hang out to dry when she came under attack for her infamous circumpolar tour, which critics called an indulgent, expensive waste of time. Nobody in government would defend her, even though, as she argues, the government itself had asked her to undertake the trip. She's convinced this dreadful injustice was a deliberate effort to deflect public attention from the sponsorship scandal. In her view the incident wasn't simply down-and-dirty politics, but a dangerous betrayal of the Crown itself. In her telling, the government's failure to defend her was nothing less than a threat to Canada. "People lose all sense of moral balance and direction if they don't have a clear idea of what is good for the country," she writes. Translation: Her enemies did not. She did.
Mme. Clarkson herself seldom admits to error. The unfortunate decision to go on television and defend herself, she says, was the result of bad staff advice. When she made the unfortunate declaration that she was "above politics," her critics were to blame for not understanding what she meant. Here's what she meant: "To be 'above politics' is to be able to see the whole field in the way that Tolstoy saw the whole field in describing the Battle of Borodino in War and Peace."
Mme. Clarkson has a keen appreciation of cultural allusions. The ability to carry on a cultivated conversation seems to be her main criterion for passing judgment on the many heads of state she met. Not surprisingly, George W. Bush (who told her he mostly reads the Bible) flunked. Mr. Putin passed gloriously. Oddly enough, she and the despised Mr. Bush have one thing in common: Both were charmed to bits by the ruthless Russian strongman.
There are few tender words for the staff at Rideau Hall, who are depicted as people intransigently opposed to change. (And, to be fair, the place was a dump when she moved in.) But there are many tender words for her husband, whom she obviously adores. "I had always envisaged that John and I would live like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir," she writes. Presumably she means that they would be free spirits and intellectual soulmates, not that she would find beautiful young girls for him to seduce. In any event, she clearly prefers French to English culture. The English worship vacuous celebrity, while the French worship the intelligentsia. "Only in Quebec have I seen that Canadians truly understand that culture is an expression of their highest aspirations as human beings," she writes. "I think there's an unconscious envy of this in the rest of the country."
Mme. Clarkson stresses that everything she and her husband did in office was undertaken for the good of the Crown and Canada. She does not explain why her husband insisted on being addressed as "Your Excellency" (as was his right) and why he had his aides encourage event organizers to have people stand when he entered a room, even when she wasn't there. Some people thought this behaviour was stupefyingly pompous. But maybe it was just French.
Of her successor, Mme. Clarkson says not a word. She doesn't have to. Not when she has pointed out that any qualified GG must have a stellar record of accomplishment, a thorough knowledge of the Constitution, and an intimate understanding of the country. In case you wondered, she makes it plain that she, unlike a certain unnamed person, was thoroughly vetted at the highest levels of the PMO before her appointment. "The job is so important, constitutionally and symbolically, that I know due diligence was carried out," she writes. "They would not take any risk."
In her book, Mme Clarkson sets the record straight on many other matters large and small -- her first marriage and divorce, her troubled mother, her heart problems, her reconciliation with her estranged daughters. Much of her account makes for affecting reading. Yet nowhere is she so self-revelatory as when she's settling scores. Our Adrienne is far too poised and dignified to get mad -- but not at all too dignified to get even.
mwente@globeandmail.com
18/09/06, Letters, (Back).
Mme Clarkson's culture
Rita Griffin-Short, Hamilton -- If more Canadians were of Adrienne Clarkson's ilk, this country, the English part, would be a cultural paradise rather than a cultural wasteland (Mme. Clarkson Settles a Few Scores -- Sept. 16). Gratefully brought up in the heart of old Quebec City, within both an English and French culture, I agree with Ms. Clarkson's view that Quebec has a strong sense of itself.
Moving to Ontario from Montreal in the 1950s was a cultural shock from which I've not yet recovered.
Nick Sopinka, Kimberley, Ontario -- Margaret Wente is typically enlightening and entertaining. According to our former G-G in her memoirs, Heart Matters, "I had always envisaged that John and I would live like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir." This is a startling admission for a former head of state.
First, Simone was one of Sartre's mistresses and procured women for him. Secondly, Jean-Paul was an avowed communist, enamoured of an ideology that claimed millions of victims. Some intellectuals. Some role models.
Robert Marjoribanks, Toronto -- Most Canadians firmly believe that Adrienne Clarkson was the best governor-general we ever had or are likely to have any time soon. Their judgment will not be altered by Margaret Wente's attack.
(Back)
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