The Longer I'm Prime Minister - 9780307361325

The definitive portrait of Stephen Harper in power--and of the impact his government is having on Canada--by this country's most trenchant, influential and surprising political commentator.

Stephen Harper is on his way to becoming one of Canada's most significant prime ministers. He has already been in power longer than Pearson and Diefenbaker. By the end of this majority term, he'll have caught up to Brian Mulroney. And with that majority in hand, he's been moving more boldly to build the Canada he wants and to entrench the Conservatives as the twenty-first century's "natural governing party."

In The Longer I'm Prime Minister, Paul Wells explains Harper not only to Harper supporters but also to readers who can't believe he is Canada's prime minister. Harper has been elected 3 times and Conservative Party support grew in every election. As Wells writes, "He could not win without widespread support in the land...which suggests that Harper has what every successful federal leader has needed to survive over a long stretch of time: a superior understanding of Canada." Too many people who oppose Harper try to ignore him or dismiss him or discount what he clearly knows about the Canadian electorate. But as Wells writes in this authoritative, engaging and sometimes deeply critical account of the man and Canada, "Harper endures. I figure it is not too soon to try to understand him."