Currently, in Canada, there is a prime minister of great personal probity. A man who presents as the very personification of moral rectitude, and with the degree of social empathy that is inherent to his character, but hidden behind a facade of privacy. His is not an outgoing personality, and he is more given to shying away from public displays of any kind than publicizing his accomplishments.
Most politicians who are successful at their craft are judged by the degree of charisma they project, and the voting public responds to any aspiring politician capable of rousing their celebrity-type admiration.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is not one of those. He is seen as aloof, unapproachable, stiff. Personality traits that those who know him personally or who have come in close contact with him deny. Many people do not project themselves uniquely in a crowd. They are relaxed in more intimate settings, and it is in those settings that they allow themselves to be seen for what they really are.
And this, quite apart from a man like Stephen Harper's administrative abilities in executing his duties as democratic head of a country of around 34-million people. He may be reserved in nature, but his response to the call of duty to those who have placed their trust in his abilities is obvious to those who appreciate his qualities; far less so to those whose antipathy to his personal style of authority and his politics of choice are anathema.
A caring father of two teen-agers and loving husband, his personal life is maintained as separately from his public life as in such societies as Canada's the separation of church and state is maintained. His life-partner and wife has a more outgoing personality, moving with ease in the public sphere. She represents his more-immediately-recognized very empathic human persona. Mr. Harper presents the gravitas of a man secure in his faith and his personal values.
He and his administration have capably guided he country through a series of challenges that have overwhelmed the capabilities of other countries in the G8 and G20. Unemployment levels, economic stability and trade growth and defence and security have been well guided under his administration. This is a government that has followed its moral and ethical guidelines to channel its responses to global situations, not merely joining with its allies in areas that require deep independent thought and evaluation leading to conclusive actions.
The Prime Minister has taken years of spare moments to painstakingly assemble a history of his favourite sport into a chronicle of times past to the present. He is, therefore, also an accomplished author of a book titled A Great Game. Not co-written by anyone besides himself, but entirely his own work, research, perceptions and enthusiasms. The publication contents have been well received by critics and his writing style is considered to be rather admirable. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be given to support for military families.
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Simon & Schuster / The Canadian PressSet
for release in November, A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & The
Rise of Professional Hockey tracks hockey from the first years of
Canadian confederation to the First World War
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http://www.youtube.com/watchHe has also proved himself exquisitely capable of performing musically when the occasion demands that he reveal a bit more of his personal side. He is an excellent pianist, and his inborn sense of timing and a fine voice lead him on occasion to relax in public to the extent that a musical performance takes place enhancing the realization that this is a man of many talents. As he did a few days ago when he appeared at a Jewish National Fund dinner at which he was the guest of honour.
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Prime
Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen arrive at the Jewish
National Fund of Toronto's 2013 Negev Dinner, where he was honoured for
his steadfast support for Israel and the Jewish people. - See more at:
http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media/prime-minister-stephen-harper-attends-2013-negev-dinner-hosted-jewish-national-fund-toronto#sthash.rGhhLqwh.dpuf
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