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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-06-17, Page 5Arthur Black THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17,1992. PAGE 5. TheShort PM's image undergoing major cosmetic makeover There's a sucker born every minute. A chap by the name of Phineas Taylor Barnum uttered that observation more than a century ago. P.T.'s philosophical conclusion was based on a lifetime of watching the rubes line up to get in his world-famous circus. Barnum discovered that people would pay to see just about anything, as long as it was served up with a good gob of showmanship. When the famous Cardiff Giant was “discovered”, Barnum immediately tried to buy it for display in his circus. The owners turned him down. Undeterred, Barnum hired a sculptor to carve another Cardiff Giant. He did, and Barnum pitched a tent over it and started selling tickets. In no time, Barnum's fake of a fake was attracting more customers than the original. P.T. Barnum is dead now. He died in 1891. I know because I checked. I checked because I was beginning to think that old P.T. was alive and well and working out of the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa. Have you noticed the oh, so subtle sales Germany — the price of unification BY RAYMOND CANON I am writing this article just before I fly off to Germany and I must admit to looking forward this time to the trip with mixed feelings. That country was my home for a year when the zones of occupation in the aftermath of World War II were still very much a reality and I never cease to be amazed at the progress the country has made since that time. It shows, among other things, what people can do when they put their mind to it. As you can easily recall Germany was, for over 40 years, divided into two parts, with the eastern second often being touted as the showplace for the communist system. All during that time there were any number of Germans who longed for reunification. Now that the communist system has been revealed for what it really was, and Eastern Germany is now part of a united Germany, it is also safe to say that there are a similar number of Germans who are wondering if they have been misled by their politicians as they look at the mounting cost of the reunification program. First of all, the eastern part of Germany has turned out to be anything but a showcase for communism. With very few exceptions, industry there could not even come close to competing with the West. The equipment was outdated and inefficient and, even if it job that’s been done on our PM of late? It started around the beginning of 1992, if I'm not mistaken -- which, co-incidentally enough, is about the time Hugh Segal was hired as chief Image Masseur for the PM. Gradually, kinder, gentler stories and photos about Mulroney began to appear. Here was Brian stooping to pick up a swooning female Mountie. There was Brian commiserating with the widow Jeanne Sauve at the funeral of her husband. I'm not suggesting that the Mountie took a dive, or that Mulroney didn't feel real compassion for Madame Sauve. I'm merely pointing out that both photos landed on the front pages of an awful lot of the nation's newspapers. And they were the kind of photos that a press agent has wet dreams about. Is that you behind the curtain, Hughie? It's not just the newspapers either. Did you catch that televised Love-in Brian and Mila did with Hana Gartner? One full hour of prime time lob balls in which Brian (wisely) let Mila do most of the talking while he sat in his Perry Como sweater, awshucksing softly in the background. The PM even managed to corral some warm and fuzzy press coverage on Mother's Day. He told a radio audience that he always cooks up breakfast on Mother's Day for the wife and kiddies. “It's a tradition that Mila kind of enjoys,” he told the audience. Gosh. Sounds so wholesome and folksy. Kinda like Fred MacMurray in My Three Sons. It's supposed to. This is a major cosmetic makeover. The task is to take the most By Raymond Canon wasn't almost half of its markets were lost when the rest of the Moscow-controlled countries in eastern Europe went their own way with problems of the same magnitude of their German comrades. The German government wisely set up an organization, called the Treuhand, to try to privatize as many of the eastern firms as possible. They are doing their best in what has become far too frequently a thankless task but they are discovering an all too common theme: the rapidly rising cost of doing all this. This past year it spent about $20 billion but by 1995 this cost is expected to rise about six-fold and this is only one of the escalating costs that the government is running into. Rich as Germany is, it has watched its borrowing costs rise inexorably. By the end of 1995 the total public sector debt is expected to be over $1.5 trillion. Outside of the Treuhand's activities, what are some of the other large costs which have to be faced? You can probably relate to them, given that we also have a large public­ service debt at both the federal and provincial levels. For openers there is the problem of social welfare payments. Germany, also like Canada, has an extensive system and given that there are so many people out of work in the eastern part of the country, they have to be looked after for as long as it takes the system to sort itself out. There is indication that there are some reaching the end of their patience. You may have recently read about the public service strikes that took place in Germany. The mail wasn't delivered, the airports were closed and garbage wasn't collected. These were just a few of the services that people found themselves without. Not surprisingly, roundly loathed public figure in Canadian history and transform him into something ... human. And there's not much time. The Mulroney Mandate is finally running out. Very soon the Prime Minister is going to have to look at a calendar and pick a date for the next federal election. So the PMO spin doctors are getting their licks while they can. And doing a pretty good job too, considering what they've got to work with. After Mulroney's last visit to Washington, the papers were full of headline adjectives like “blunt” and “forceful”. George Bush (a man all too aware of the necessity of heavy makeup) obliged his ole fishin' buddy with the hoary Whitehouse humble routine — the one that goes “Boy, that Mister Mulroney sure did give me some talking to, I'll tell ya.” It was perfect politics on both sides. Everybody looks good. Lots of words. Nothing on paper. Will it work? Can Mulroney and Company dance and sing fast enough to make the Canadian electorate forget the past eight hideous years in the country's life? It's not impossible. All he's got to do is (a) stick handle past a couple of political sock puppets called Chretien and McLaughlin ... ... and (b) convince us to vote for him. The first part's easy for a wily old vet like Mulroney. The second part? P.T. Barnum is famous for another saying: “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the public.” Let's hope that for once in his life, old Phineas was wrong. because of all the deficits, Germany finds itself in the strange situation of suffering from a rate of inflation which is about three times what we have in Canada. With no end of this in sight, the workers went on strike demanding an increase of nine to 10 per cent, far more than the government was prepared to pay. A compromise was reached but who is to say when the next group of disgruntled workers will take to the picket lines. I must confess that it is really strange to see Canada with low rates of inflation and days lost to strikes compared to what is taking place in Germany. Usually it is the other way around. Even some of the German firms in the western part are coming in for some rough sailing. A case in point is the famous automobile industry. Ever since German cars started coming on the foreign markets, they have had a reputation for quality. It has frequently come at the price of higher costs but, as long as people were prepared to pay for this and there was no serious competition, nobody worried too much. But competition there now is! For one the Japanese are paying much more attention to the same type of cars as the Germans have been turning out and they are doing it at a lower cost. It may interest you to know that some Germans are trying to imitate the production systems in use at the Cami plant near Ingersoll which, as you know, is a combined venture between Suzuki and General Motors. Since Opel is owned by G.M., I'll give you one guess which German firm is doing the imitating. Well, at least the Germans probably have a better idea of how Canadians have been feeling for some time. of it By Bonnie Gropp There is no place like home Just a brief few years ago I would never have dreamt this could happen, but by all accounts I am now a homebody. Well, at least that is what I would like to be if I could ever get the chance. Once a bit of a social butterfly, I am now at my happiest just staying home surrounded by family. My kids say it's a result of old age, however, I'm inclined to think that I'm just learning to appreciate the value of what I have. There is one excursion from home and hearth that I do look forward to — an annual pilgrimmage to Frankenmuth, Mich. Since 1977, my husband and I, together with a group of adult acquaintances, have taken off to enjoy the second weekend in June in the quaint Bavarian city. Maybe it's our German heritage that makes us find the place so endearing or maybe we’re just boringly predictable, but we have yet to tire of it. With cross-border shopping a constant source of controversy I realize I take my chances in saying that a highlight for me is a visit to an American community. Thus, I am quick to let you know that while I do shop that was never, nor is, the intent of the trip. For 15 years it has been an event, a time for friends to get together and socialize. We like the atmosphere — which is so unlike the rest of Michigan.. The ritual began when cross-border shopping had less significance than it does today and of the possible ramifications I was blissfully ignorant. The fact that I shop now is just because I don't go anywhere without shopping! If there's a place to spend I'm there. Three hundred and sixty days a year it's in Canada. I will admit that this year, however, I practised a little more restraint in Frankenmuth, turning what's often been a mall marathon into something more like a store sprint. And I even drank a Canadian import — spring waler. While this weekend has always been a sort of hedonistic venture, one where conscience has never really taken a precedent, mine began getting pricked at the border on Friday. It took us three-quarters of an hour to get to the American side due to a huge back up of autos, most of them wearing Ontario license plates. This has been a common occurence on our trips to Frankenmuth in the last two years and I find it hard to believe that the majority of these were intending to do much more than pop over for fuel or groceries. Our return on Sunday night was quite late and we were much amazed to be met on the other side of the bridge by another line of cars, again with the majority bearing Ontario plates. Personally, I can’t imagine suffering through customs for a cheap tank of gas or for saving a few dollars on my grocery bill. While I admit to boosting the American economy every year, I certainly don't go just to get cheaper goods. Actually, if it weren't for Frankenmuth, I would never leave the country. I have travelled to Vermont and Kentucky by car seeing various points in between and have yet to see anything that surpasses what we have here. And it's always a good feeling for me to get home. Reaching the Canadian side after an extended stay in the US always makes me think of the sun coming out from behind a cloud. This past weekend made me realize once again how special our home is. I just wish there was some way to turn the daytrippers into homebodies.