It is hard to credit the latest statements and actions by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. On both Iran and Israel, Baird seems to almost deliberately seek to humiliate both himself and the country he is supposed to represent on the international stage. Taking an ultra-orthodox rabbi (whose organization opposes any Palestinian state) with him on an official visit to Israel is not just bizarre but dangerous. And suggesting, essentially, that Iran has a first-strike policy against Israel (with non-existent nuclear weapons) while comparing its leader to Hitler, puts Baird firmly in the company of drunks in a barroom exchange of tough talk.
For Stephen Harper to let this crude and ignorant political storm trooper loose as our principal face to the world may only be understandable if we assume that everything Harper does is for a domestic audience. He simply doesn't care what the world thinks. There has always been a kind of visceral disdain for things foreign amongst the population which makes up Harper's core vote. Perhaps wilful ignorance and a penchant for barroom tough talk is exactly what qualifies Baird for his job.
It is hardly new that Harper's ministers and Harper himself operate with little reference to the professional civil service that most governments rely on for policy advice. He doesn't trust bureaucrats or their traditional role of guiding government policy. For Harper, the civil service is at best an impediment to his agenda, at worst a political enemy -- the equivalent of another political party. He has now effectively gagged every public employee who might otherwise brief the media -- and citizens -- on even the mundane day-to-day operations of government.
