recipient
of Book Award from the University of Lethbridge
For all of
the 'hype' about Stockwell Day's accomplishments by
the various media, in the spring of 2000 he was an
untested politician of modest accomplishments, a
meager national profile, and enough controversial
baggage to fill a Ryder truck. Yet, a few months
later, he was leader of Canada's newest political
party, a rising star in the new right firmament. How
this came about is the question that sets in motion
Trevor Harrison's Requiem for a
Lightweight.
From his days
as an Alberta politician, to the transformation of
the Reform party into the Alliance party, to the
high-point of Day's coronation as Alliance leader, to
the 2000 federal election, to the debacles of early
2001 that shattered the Alliance dream: this book
chronicles it all--the people, personalities, and
politics.
The
disastrous Goddard lawsuit that cost Alberta
taxpayers roughly $800,000, and the series of very
public gaffes that began Day's quick slide into
political oblivion, is laid out in detail. The
disenchantment directed at Day, the ongoing
infighting within the party, the resignations leading
up to the breakaway of eight MPs: nothing yet
published anywhere has adequately put together this
story, fascinating from start to finish.
Throughout,
the question of media image is placed front and
centre as this book explores the growing problem of
rational democratic politics in an era of celebrity,
image, and instant culture.
Requiem
for a Lightweight throws a nifty one-two
combination--a quick, accurate history of
Stockwell Day's bumpy journey as Canadian
Alliance party leader, followed by a solid
commentary on the nature of populism in modern
Canadian politics.
--Mark Lisac, journalist with the Edmonton
Journal and author of The
Klein Revolution
Harrison
neatly dissects the cleverly constructed image of
Stockwell Day and reveals the emptiness at the
core.
--Gillian Steward, visiting professor, School of
Journalism, University of Regina
Table of Contents
TREVOR W.
HARRISON, University of Alberta, is the author of Of
Passionate Intensity: Right-Wing Populism and the
Reform Party of Canada
(University of Toronto Press), and co-editor of The
Trojan Horse: Alberta and the Future of Canada (Black Rose Books).
He has written extensively on Canadian politics and
society and is a frequently heard guest on radio and
television.
216 pages,
appendices
Paperback ISBN: 1-55164-206-9 $19.99
Hardcover ISBN: 1-55164-207-7 $48.99
Politics
