I was watching "An Interview with the Prime Minister" today, in which Prime Minister Stephen Harper was interviewed by Lloyd Robertson and Robert Fife. There is a synopsis of the interview ">here.
The journalists seemed somewhat antagonistic at the beginning of the interview, pressing the prime minister on certain issues to the point of sounding obnoxious. However, Stephen Harper clearly was unflappable. Critics in the past have accused him of being boring. He doesn't fly off the handle like Pierre Trudeau, who enjoyed getting a reaction with his rude comments and behaviour. He is in no way as colourful or "proud" as Jean Chretien(his words). What I like about Stephen Harper is his integrity, and his quiet assurance that he has a job to do and is bound and determined to do it, come what may.
In one instance Mr. Harper was asked about charges of "excessive control."
"You know, I guess my some 20 years in this business convinces me there are only two kinds of prime ministers," he said. "There are prime ministers in control of their government and those that aren’t. And in either case you’re criticized, but I’d rather have the criticism of, you know, leading from strength than leading from weakness."
Mr. Roberston: "You prefer to run a tight ship."
Mr. Harper: "Well, we prefer to run a disciplined organization."
It is far better to have a leader who knows how to lead. I'd rather have a prime minister in control of his government than one like Lester Pearson, who just didn't know what was going on most of the time. He was a nice guy, well-liked by everyone, but because he was a mediator at heart (he won the Nobel Peace Prize) he didn't like to displease anyone. A person like that makes a fine ambassador, but a poor Prime Minister.
Stephen Harper is a leader. He is a man of integrity who strives to never do something that would cause him to lose sleep at night. He honours his parents, valuing his mother's opinion about current events in Canada, and speaking well of his now deceased father. He honours his marriage vows, and speaks highly of his wife. He honours his commitments to lower emissions, to continue in Afghanistan as was promised, to work with the people of Quebec within the country of Canada. He is an honourable man.
The Bible tells us to pray for those in authority over us, and to recognize that leaders of nations are raised up by God. I am thankful that God has blessed Canada with a man of integrity as its Prime Minister.
We would do well to pray for him daily, in 2008.
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