Michael Den Tandt: Stephen Harper

John Ibbitson Dept: The prime minister who, according to the Globe and Mail's John Ibbitson, "bestrides Canadian politics, a principled economic and social conservative who is reshaping the nation," is also the prime minister my Postmedia colleague Michael Den Tandt describes as "just another Canadian mainstream manager, Jean Chr tien from Alberta.", according to Montreal Gazette. This is unusual, if not unprecedented. Pundits will naturally disagree on the merits of a government's program. It is less common to see them disagreeing on whether it has one. I cannot think the government is distressed to find the punditry in such disarray. Indeed, I think it is deliberate and one year on, we can say that Stephen Harper has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. If there was room to doubt what was achieved by five years of minority government, after a year of majority Conservative rule it is now clear: total national confusion. The recent budget, according to the former clerk of the Privy Council, Alex Himelfarb, signals "the crushing of the progressive state," conjuring images of "the '20s and '30s, a time of massive inequality and personal vulnerability which presaged the Great Depression." On the other hand, Maclean's columnist Paul Wells reports, "I haven't spoken to a single Conservative who's satisfied with the budget. ... Most Conservatives feel like a 16-yearold who hoped his birthday present would be keys to the family car. Instead, Dad lets him shoot a few tin cans with a BB gun." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.