Harper: Doesn't want to hear what the news media says about him.
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER Stephen Harper created a bit of a stink last week when he told a business luncheon that “I don’t like to watch Canadian news.”
The PM, leader of the Conservative Party, said he doesn’t enjoy hearing what “everybody else is saying about me, so my hobby is to watch politics elsewhere … mainly American news.”
Harper is well-known for having not-so-thinly veiled contempt for the press. He’s had a rocky relationship with those who cover him since taking office nearly four years ago.
Perhaps not surprisingly then, the bulk of the outrage over his comments has come from the Canadian news media (as well as opposition politicians, obviously, who have seized on the opportunity to portray Harper as out of touch).
I’m neither a Harper supporter nor a detractor (though I’m not sure the other parties offer a better alternative at the moment). Regardless, I think the reaction to his statement the other day is a tad overblown.
I don’t necessarily believe it’s cool for the PM to admit he doesn’t watch Canadian news, but most of us, if we’re honest, would acknowledge that the subject matter on offer here is generally not all that exciting, despite CBC’s efforts to jazz things up.
But just because Harper doesn’t tune into the Canadian news to follow the political coverage, doesn’t mean he’s uninformed. He is the top dog after all. The guy gets the inside line on the stuff that matters; it’s not like he needs to watch the evening news to know what’s up.
Truth is, it seemed there were just as many people on blogs and in comments sections last week who were with the PM on this one: they don’t watch Canadian news either.
It might be unfair to say that it’s because our news is boring. All I know is that many times I’ve left this country for weeks on end and returned only to find that nothing all that exciting/significant happened while I was gone.
I mean really - what is Harper missing by not tuning into Canadian news? Polar bear trapped on ice floe? Cold snap leads to run on parkas? Beaver population surpasses moose? Maple syrup shortage sparks panic?
Why would the PM bother with this trivial pap when he could just flip on Fox News or CNN and get the latest on Balloon Boy.
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