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Oct 18/10 - Pt 1: Harper Losing Control

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is facing public criticism from some of his cabinet ministers, as well as rebukes from the United Nations and the United Arab Emirates. Some observers say that's the result of his desire to control everything and that his controlling tendencies are starting to back-fire on him. We asking if that's true and, if so, what it means for his government.

Listen to Part One: (Pop-up)

PART ONE

It's Monday, October 18th.

Stephen Harper insists that Canada's failed bid for a security council seat was not a popularity contest.

Currently, it was an unpopularity contest. And Canada won.

This is The Current.

Harper Losing Control - Panel

Rightly or wrongly, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has developed a reputation as someone who likes to be in control ... a man who is most comfortable relying on himself ... a Prime Minister famous for his ability to control the agenda. But over the last few weeks, some observers have seen signs that he might be losing his grip.

Last week, he became the first Canadian Prime Minister to lose a bid for a seat on the UN Security Council. Then, his government posted the largest deficit in Canadian history. And, to add insult to injury, there are the very public reports of a cabinet squabble over Canada's military losing the use of a United Arab Emirates airbase.

For their thoughts on what this means for Prime Minister Harper and his government as parliament resumes, we were joined by Lawrence Martin. He's a columnist with the Globe & Mail and the author of Harperland: The Politics of Control. He was in Ottawa. And Antonia Maioni is the Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. She was in New York this morning. And Geoff Norquay is a former Communications Director for Stephen Harper, now at the Earnscliffe Strategy Group.

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