SUMMERTIME BLUES.

HARPER, Stephen, 1959-; JOHNSON, William; WILLIAMSON, John; GOMERY, John, 1932-2021

This article focuses on Canadian politics and the effect that the sponsorship trial is having on various politicians in Canadian polls. Among Tory MPs, the prevailing view is that their leader, Stephen Harper, suffers from a persistent, but superficial, image problem. With the House likely to wrap up this week, they're hoping Harper's plan to tour the country and flip plenty of burgers during the summer break will boost his appeal. Into this debate over what Harper must do to bounce back in the polls comes a new book--the kind that passes for deck chair reading among politics addicts. William Johnson's Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada is an unabashed, 418-page fan letter. But while the author doesn't hide his admiration for his subject, this biography is thorough enough to illuminate Harper's faults even as it focuses on his strengths. John Williamson, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a non-partisan lower-taxes advocacy group, slams Harper's Conservatives for watering down key positions in recent months, when it looked like the Liberal minority might fall in the wake of new revelations at Justice John Gomery's sponsorship inquiry. A more fundamental question is whether Harper has permanently given up on talking boldly about health care. All the debate over Harper's woes flows from a familiar source: the latest polls. New Gomery inquiry revelations briefly hammered the Liberals in April opinion surveys, but the governing party has bounced back. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have slipped, and Harper's own approval numbers suffered.