Even before they saw the evening newscasts or read the newspaper coverage, staff in the Prime Minister’s Office say they were pleased with the press conference Stephen Harper gave yesterday afternoon in the National Press Theatre (NPT). It was the first time since he became prime minister that Harper used the NPT, the preferred venue of the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
Moreover, it was the first time in more than a year that Harper gave a press conference in Ottawa in which a member of his staff did not act as moderator. That issue had sparked a long-running battle between the PMO communications staff and the Parliamentary Press Gallery (PPG). PPG executives had argued that one of their own ought to be moderator and that ‘a list’ of questioners maintained by a member of the PMO’s staff had too much potential for abuse.
Yesterday, Hélène Buzzetti, a journalist with Le Devoir and a member of the PPG executive, was the moderator whereas, for most of the last year, it was Dimitri Soudas, the Deputy Press Secretary for the Prime Minister.
A senior advisor I spoke with last night in the PMO says Harper himself was very pleased with the press conference. Harper believes he was able to get across a few key messages and that the diversity and quality of questions allowed him a chance to speak about several topics. In fact, advisors and the PM are kicking around the idea of doing a Q&A session with reporters on a quarterly basis.
“The preparation is tough. It’s like spotting for an exam,” an advisor said.
The advisor says the idea to hold the presser camer from Harper himself. “No one would even think of pitching such an idea to him,” the advisor said, a recognition, perhaps that advising the PM to ‘make nice’ with the media was probably a contributing factor to the departure of William Stairs as Harper’s director of communications and his replacement by the current incumbent, Sandra Buckler.
On Tuesday morning, Harper half-jokingly said to some key staffers that he didn’t think he’d been in the media enough in the last several days. That, as it turned out, was his main motivation — he just felt he hadn’t been getting enough press. And so, after thinking about it, Harper himself proposed to do a Q&A session and do it yesterday. So far as timing goes, yesterday would have been the last possible day to do it as Harper has now headed west towards Calgary to spend Thanksgiving with his mother and then when he returns to Ottawa it would be too close to the Throne Speech for him to do such a presser.
The idea of having Harper read an initial statement or make an announcement was considered, then rejected. It was also Harper’s idea to use the National Press Theatre. Up until yesterday, Harper, on the advice of his staff, has held pressers most often in the foyer of the House of Commons. He once told his staff he didn’t think he looked good sitting down behind a desk as one does at the NPT. Still, he thought the NPT would fit the bill and so he picked that that venue. Then, in the moring yesterday, he and his staff went through a list of likely questions and responses — many of which he never had to use.
For example, Harper was expecting journalists to ask about the Ontario election, where Progressive Conservative leader John Tory is trailing badly in the polls. Harper’s response, had he been asked, would have been that he supports John Tory — and then Harper would have added something along the lines that he supports all Progressive Conservatives who are seeking to be premiers of their province — even Danny Williams!