Harperland the politics of control.

The least that I can say is that I'm not a Stephen Harper fan. The prime minister of Canada is a case. His relentless efforts to control the information about his government, his opacity and of course his grand capital political views despise me. Here's a review of a book by Lawrence Martin, ''Harperland: The Politics of Control''

''Lawrence Martin has produced a well researched and insightful look at a relentless, paranoid man who will use any means to achieve his personal goals. He paints a picture of a calculating politician who has undermined his mentors, and manufactured strategies to create one of the most centralized governments Canada has ever seen. Harper campaigned on a platform of "openness and transparency" and has gone on to create perhaps the most closed and opaque government in the history of the country. The most frightening conclusions of the book focus on Harper's distain for the principles and practices of democracy itself. Lawrence portrays a vengeful man who will book no debate, is antagonistic toward any view contrary to his own, and who will use any strategy to forward his personal philosophies, never, at any moment, acknowledging that the opposition represents a constituency of citizens who have a right to be heard and valued.

All this from a writer who is no Liberal hack. No, the Liberal party has felt Lawrence's sting in the past.'' The review is from Doc1495 on Amazon.ca