On Sunday, former Prime Minister of Canada and two-timer, uh, sorry, two-time leader of the Progressive Conservative Party said if he had to pick between Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, and Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper (which he doesn’t,) he would choose Martin.
The fact that he prefers Paul Martin to Stephen Harper doesn’t come as a surprise to anybody who’s been following Clark’s career. Joe Clark represents the fiscally conservative but socially liberal views of the left wing of the Progressive Conservative Party, which puts him ideologically, much closer to Martin than Harper. Toss in a healthy dose arrogance and obstinacy and his backhanded endorsement of Martin was entirely predictable. (Well, at least unsurprising.)
When the chips are down, count on Joe to be wrong. It’s uncanny.
After squeaking out a minority in 1979, Clark decides to govern as if he has a majority and brings down the "short term pain for long term gain" budget, which he knows darn well would be a tough sell. When you're in a tough fight and you’re 6 seats short of a majority in Parliament, it’s time to think, "What would Joe do?" Well, if you’re Joe Clark, not only do you refuse to grant the Social Credit’s 6 members official party status in exchange for their support for the budget, you don’t even make sure every vote from your own party is in the House, or even the country! I should hope that by the time you become Prime Minister of Canada you would be able to count up to 142. His government falls and an unnecessary election (which I suppose Clark arrogantly thought he would win) is called giving Pierre Trudeau, who isn’t even fully out the door yet the opportunity to come out of retirement and kick his ass, damning Canadians to four more Liberal years. Joe Clark was Prime Minister for 252 days.
During the mandatory review of his leadership in 1983, Clark announces that he wants two-thirds of his party’s support to remain at the head of Progressive Conservative Party, even though he only needs a simple majority. The votes are counted and he’s short a few, getting only 66% instead of 66.6666666666666666667%. So Captain Invincible calls for a leadership race, which he promptly loses to his nemesis, Brian Mulroney.
Deciding to serve the Mulroney government, C. Joseph builds a first class reputation as an able, honest, committed, and hardworking foreign affairs minister. But can Joe leave well enough alone? Certain that Canadians are longing to return him to his rightful place at 24 Sussex Drive, Clark takes another kick at the can after PC leader Jean Charest is drafted into Quebec politics. Unfortunately, the Reform/Canadian Alliance Party refuses to die and Joe continues his trek in the electoral wilderness, forever telling everybody how only his party and policies can appeal to a broad cross-section of Canadians while being unable to drag support for his party out of the teens.
With the birth of the new Conservative Party, Joe stamps his little feet and sits as an Independent in Parliament, instead of playing the elder statesman. Clark could have been a big enough wheel in the new party, probably able to influence and moderate its position on many issues as one of two living Conservative Prime Ministers. Nope. Instead of playing by the rules that allowed him to rule a united party himself, he’d rather flirt with the Liberal Party he’s been fighting his whole life, no doubt hoping the Conservatives are wiped out just so he can chuckle that vindicated little chuckle.
What a shame. Joe Clark is just the type of honest, competent, sincere politician people say they want in government. He and his defenders will no doubt say that his honesty and sincerity is what prevents him from supporting the new Conservative Party. Maybe. But he was able to suck it up and work under the hated Mulroney through two terms. And if he truly feels more comfortable voting for Paul Martin, it only proves to those who broke away and formed the Reform Party that the old Progressive Conservative Party was not so different than the Liberals after all.
