In 2007, former prime minister Brian Mulroney published a mammoth memoir. At 1,121 pages, you could barely fit it in an airplane carry-on bin.
But there was an extraordinary omission in the volume. Not a single word about the controversy that had dogged him for years and did more to damage his reputation than anything else – namely, the Airbus scandal and his receiving at least $225,000 in cash-stuffed envelopes from Karlheinz Schreiber, a German-Canadian lobbyist.
In the acknowledgments pages of the book, however, Mr. Mulroney made a little-noticed reference to Airbus. He referred to how he was “confronted with the horror of false allegations” by the Liberal government. “I will deal with this extraordinary abuse of a citizen’s rights and the attempt to destroy a former prime minister of Canada,” he wrote “in another book at another time.”
Though very few know it, Mr. Mulroney, who died in February, did write that book. It’s not yet published. It might never be published. It’s described to me as a lengthy score-settling blockbuster that attempts to clear his name on Airbus while eviscerating the Chrétien government for its treatment of him.
Mr. Mulroney wrote the book, which also deals with other issues, with the assistance of his first cousin, Michael O’Shea. For some reason the former prime minister kept the project secret from close friends and colleagues. Even Arthur Milnes, his assistant in the writing of his memoir, didn’t find out about it until this week.
Though a finished product, the book is being kept under wraps. Mr. O’Shea wants it published but the immediate Mulroney family is putting up resistance. In an e-mail, Mark Mulroney, one of the former PM’s sons, said his mother Mila would have the final say in such matters. “That said, there’s been no mention of any finished book being released.”
On his passing, Mr. Mulroney was the recipient of glowing praise for his achievements in nine years as prime minister. Acclaim came from both sides of the aisle. The Airbus scandal was barely even mentioned. Why then publish the book, the family reasons, and have that painful period of his life re-showcased?
It’s an understandable position. Even if Mr. Mulroney’s book scores valid points in defending his record, the relitigation would still bring back dark clouds.
The counter argument is that Mr. Mulroney was one of the country’s most significant prime ministers and to keep a major book by him concealed is a disservice to history and his record as prime minister, leaving a contentious chapter incomplete.
Mr. O’Shea refused to discuss any aspects of the Mulroney manuscript. One source told me the book was set to be published a few years ago, but was delayed because Mr. Mulroney thought the controversial disclosures might complicate the entry into Ontario politics of his daughter Caroline.
While not disputing that he hopes to get the book out, Mr. O’Shea said he hadn’t received any specific instruction from Mr. Mulroney for posthumous publication.
Bill Fox, a long-time close associate of Mr. Mulroney who served as his press secretary, wouldn’t comment on the book. Richard Isnor, acting director of the Mulroney Institute of Government, said he was unaware of the book. Charles McMillan, who was his policy adviser, has also been kept in the dark.
Central to the Airbus controversy is a letter in 1995 from the RCMP and the federal Justice Department to Swiss authorities seeking access to banking records. The letter alleged that Mr. Mulroney may have been involved in a kickback scheme related to the Air Canada purchase of Airbus passenger jets.
The Liberals denied any partisan motivation, but Mr. Mulroney sued the government for libel and won a public apology and cash settlement.
Mr. Mulroney later acknowledged receiving the large cash payments from Mr. Schreiber, saying they were for consulting services unrelated to Airbus. The Oliphant Commission ruled Mr. Mulroney acted inappropriately in taking the money. Mr. Mulroney never fully explained his relations with Mr. Schreiber, something the book would surely get into.
On resigning as prime minister in 1993, Mr. Mulroney was enormously unpopular. Over the next three decades, he worked tirelessly to defend his record and earn back respect. He did so in spades. He engineered the greatest image rebuild by a Canadian prime minister ever.
But there was unfinished business. It still gnawed at him that his name hadn’t been fully cleared on Airbus, that the Liberals, so he claimed, had done him such a gross injustice.
His book could well establish whether or not he has a case. If we ever see it.
Lawrence Martin