“…[Diefenbaker in 1956] was starting to see strains of disloyalty and antagonism among people who wanted nothing more than to be sought out, flattered, thanked or encouraged. The small kindnesses that motivates caucus members and inspire their families — an evening call just to chat, flowers, and a personal note on the illness, death or marriage of a close relative, a spontaneous invitation to drop by 24 Sussex for a drink after work — all of these encouraging courtesies evaporated in the recriminations and Monday-morning quarterbacking that dominated postelection discussions in the Prime Minister's Office. I carefully noted this change and saw the degree of erosion that sets in, at first subtly and then irretrievably, in the leader's base support in caucus and party when personal gestures by the leader and his wife cease. At the very moment he should have stepped up these contacts Diefenbaker withdrew, and the consequences soon became fatal. For me, another important leadership lesson learned.”
-Brian Mulroney, Memoirs: 1939-1993, Toronto: McLelland and Stewart Ltd., p. 78