When it comes to wines, there are almost endless varieties. The same can be said of politicians. A few become prime ministers, while others end up as one-term members of Parliament. Several are elected as party leaders, while many more sit as backbenchers. Some of them become respected federal cabinet ministers, while others relish their work at the provincial level.
Bob Williams and Michael Wilson were both successful politicians, but their vintages were markedly different. Williams was born into a working-class family in East Vancouver and would serve as a straight-shooting NDP cabinet minister under Dave Barrett, the premier of British Columbia. Wilson was born into a self-described “privileged” background in Hamilton, Ontario, and would serve as a straitlaced federal finance minister in Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservative government.
Yet the two men’s recent autobiographies reveal some similar notes and characteristics. Using Power Well: Bob...
Michael Taube is a columnist for the National Post, Loonie Politics, and Troy Media. Previously, he was a speech writer for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
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