Whether by accident or design, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is transforming himself from the politician that journalists once nicknamed “Mr. Angry” to one pollsters say an increasing number of Canadians are beginning to like.
It may seem crass or shallow, but a politician’s “likability” can be the extra intangible that, in Canadian politics, can mean the difference between minority and majority governments.
“Absolutely,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of polling firm Ipsos Reid. “When you take a look at a guy like (former Liberal prime minister Jean) Chretien, that was clearly the case. People liked him. They saw him as a guy just like them. But that has always been the missing factor with Harper. He was seen almost like an accountant or a funeral director, very mannered and cold.”
Whether it was Chretien, Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney or John Diefenbaker, when those leaders won majority governments for the first time, they enjoyed a high degree of personal popularity among the electorate.
“For the longest time, ever since his return to politics, both the party and (Harper) were described as ‘scary’ and ‘mean’ and so on,” said Goldy Hyder, who, as a vice-president for public relations firm Hill and Knowlton, advises clients on reputation management. Hyder is also a Conservative who has known Harper since they were both students at the University of Calgary.
“But Stephen Harper has not proved to be the things that the opposition has accused him of being,” said Hyder. “The Stephen Harper we’re seeing more of is a guy who is more and more comfortable with himself and with the role of being prime minister. That has led him to surprise Canadians who are surprised to find that they like what they see.”
Harper has always rated high on trust and competence, but in three general elections against what were arguably weak Liberal campaigns and opponents, those qualities have only given Harper a two-and-one record: One loss and, to use Bricker’s description, two “grudging” minority governments.