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DIPLOMATICA|Foreign Affairs
Six essential steps: How John Baird can succeed as
Canada's foreign minister
Fen Osler Hampson
John Baird hit the ground running
as Canada’s new foreign minister.
Within days of his appointment late
last spring, he was off on a secret mission
to Libya to meet with key rebel leaders
of its Transitional National Council. That
trip was immediately followed by meetings
in Turkey, China, Indonesia, the U.S.
and Mexico.
Unlike his predecessor, Lawrence
Cannon, Mr. Baird enjoys close personal
ties with Prime Minister Stephen Harper
and his wife, Laureen. More important,
Canada’s newest foreign minister seems
to have the complete trust and confidence
of his boss. His trip to China, for
example, was taken at his own initiative,
not the PMO’s. Not since Lloyd Axworthy
paraded the halls of “Fort Pearson” (the
nickname for the dark brown concrete slab
that houses the foreign ministry) has a
foreign minister enjoyed the kind of political
access, self-confidence and freedom of
maneuver that Baird apparently has. He is
very much his own man.
Nor has Mr. Baird’s energy, friendly demeanour
and obvious desire to engage Ottawa’s
diplomatic corps gone unnoticed.
As one ambassador Tweeted recently,
“Baird saw more heads of mission in his
first two weeks [on the job] than Lawrence
Cannon did during his entire time as foreign
minister.”
With Mr. Baird at the helm, Canada’s
own diplomatic corps, which has long felt
marginalized and demoralized, is now
back in the game. There were some snickers
when Mr. Baird personally ordered the
replacement of two paintings by Quebec
painter Alfred Pellan hanging in the main
16
fen Osler hAmpson
Foreign Minister John Baird met with U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in August
in Washington.
lobby of the Pearson building with a portrait
of Her Majesty the Queen. His monarchist
sentiments are now on full display
on what is irreverently referred to as “the
Sovereign Wall.”
Does Mr. Baird have the right stuff to
be a good (if not great) foreign minister?
Does he have the makings of a Lester
Pearson, a Joe Clark, or even a Lloyd Axworthy?
Only time will tell but it is worth
reflecting now on some critical ingredients
of success.
1. “The sun’s rays do not burn unless
brought to a focus,” said the great inventor
Alexander Graham Bell. The same is
true of the great engine of diplomacy and
the kind of concentrated leadership that is
necessary to leave a lasting footprint.
Whatever one’s views about Lloyd
Axworthy, he was a successful foreign
minister because he had a clear agenda
and was relentless in pursuing a small
number of clearly defined initiatives —
the global campaign to ban anti-personnel
landmines, the establishment of the International
Criminal Court and the rights
of war-affected women and children. Joe
Clark had similar success in leaving his
mark as a champion — along with Brian
Mulroney — of opposing apartheid in
South Africa and stepping up to the plate
to relieve famine in the Horn of Africa.
It is too easy for a foreign minister to
DFAIT
become hostage to multiple and competing
demands from the bureaucracy and
other interests. If pulled in too many directions,
Mr. Baird could find his mission
difficult to achieve, especially because he
will also need a long-term vision rather
than a sole focus on securing immediate,
measurable results.
2. According to Henry Kissinger, “No
foreign policy — no matter how ingenious
— has any chance of success if it is
born in the minds of a few and carried in
the hearts of none.” Kissinger understood
that in a democracy, a successful foreign
policy must be sold not just to one’s boss,
but also to the bureaucracy and the wider
public. Mr. Baird is a good communicator;
he will have to shape and articulate his
message. He will also have to work with,
rather than be at odds with, the bureaucracy.
No foreign minister, no matter how
good, can accomplish anything great or
lasting without getting the bureaucracy
excited and engaged.
3. During their years as a minority
government, the Conservatives acquired
a reputation for excessive partisan zeal
even when it came to foreign policy. Now
that they are in a majority, Mr. Baird might
heed the advice of former Michigan Republican
Senator Arthur Vandenberg who
wisely remarked that foreign policy and
national security “should be put ahead
of partisan advantage.” “Politics,” he famously
said, “stops at the water’s edge.”
4. Mr. Baird will work the levers of
Canada’s influence in the world. There is
no great mystery here. Yet, it is remarkable
how governments sometimes forget
where our real influence lies. As Canada’s
former ambassador to Washington, Derek
Burney, wrote some years ago, “To have
influence of any kind, Canada must start
from a position of mutual trust [with our
key trading partner and ally, the United
States] as well as have something sensible
to say.”
During the Mulroney era, Canada
stood tall on the world stage not only
because we had Washington’s ear, but
also because our leaders offered wise and
sensible counsel. Recall Brian Mulroney’s
prudent advice to George H.W. Bush
FALL 2011 | OCT-NOV-DEC