Iron Man: The Defiant Reign of Jean Chrétien. Rev. ed.

Alexander Craig is a freelance journalist in Lennoxville, Quebec.

The definitive psychobiography of Jean Chrétien remains to be written;
a post–Gomery inquiry assessment of Canada’s controversial
three-time prime minister will not see the light of day for some time
yet. In the meantime, we have this updated edition of journalist
Lawrence Martin’s racy narrative to help us work out our opinions of
this very recent period in Canada’s political history.

“Over the course of three elections,” the author notes, “the
Chrétien Liberals collected a staggering 298 seats from the 305
available in the province of Ontario.” Martin’s book helps us to
understand why Canada’s “natural governing party” might be in
power for some time to come as it reviews the referendum of 1995; the
rise of Reform; and the roles of Martin, Bouchard, Trudeau, Turner, and
many others, from 1993 to 2004, when Chrétien led Canada.

Although Iron Man is not a psychobiography, it’s full of reminders of
Chrétien’s hypersensitivity to criticism from opposition parties,
which he saw as an attack on his humble beginnings. “Yet again,”
Martin writes, “it was clear to Chrétien that not much had changed
since his days on the streets of Shawinigan. Even becoming prime
minister couldn’t stop the mockery. Other prime ministers were
condemned for their actions. Jean Chrétien was condemned because of who
he was.”