John Rapley

Maybe it's because the country is richer than Jamaica. While Canadians, like Jamaicans, have watched yet another corruption scandal unfold, at stake has been a much bigger prize than light bulbs. This one involves airplanes.

Specifically, passenger aircraft bought by Air Canada, back in the days when the airline was still owned by the Canadian government. Some time ago, the Canadian authorities wrote to the Swiss to ask for some bank records for a former prime minister, Brian Mulroney. They wanted to find out if Mr. Mulroney had, while in government, accepted bribes in return for the national airline buying some Airbus planes.

The letter was leaked to the public. Mr. Mulroney sued the government. Because the government hadn't built a case against Mr. Mulroney, it had to apologise and pay him a libel award of over $2 million. That was that.

Then, just a few weeks ago, the story was reborn. A German-Canadian, awaiting extradition to Germany to face tax evasion charges, declared from his detention that he had served as the go-between between Airbus and Mr. Mulroney, and that he could prove it. Whether or not he was just buying time for himself, his charges stuck. The current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, called for an inquiry to look into the matter and sort out if the case deserved to be reopened.

Little choice

Mr. Harper would really have preferred to let sleeping dogs lie, but he had little choice. Canada is a country that spends most of its time governed by Liberals. Back in 1984, Mr. Mulroney broke that spell, putting the Conservatives in office for nearly a decade. But by 1993, the traditional tensions within his party resurfaced. It splintered into warring factions, and after Mr. Mulroney resigned in 1993, his successor went down to a catastrophic defeat.

So well into this century, the Liberals remained once again ensconced in Ottawa. The Conservatives broke up and factions went their separate ways. However, early in this decade, a unity movement began on the Canadian right. Four years ago, it succeeded in rebuilding a new coalition, which became the new Conservative Party. Mr. Mulroney played no small part in this process. Mr. Harper would prove to be its chief beneficiary.

The Liberals are languishing in opposition, and are saddled with a leader widely seen as ineffectual. So to them, this scandal is heaven-sent. There is so far no reason to believe that Mr. Harper was in any way involved. But digging up Mr. Mulroney's ghosts is like red meat to the Liberals. Mr. Mulroney left office a deeply unpopular man. If his stock has rebounded somewhat in the years since, shining an unforgiving light will still probably pay some dividends to the Liberals.

Animosities

Moreover, because of the role Mr. Mulroney played in rebuilding the Conservatives, reopening this file could possibly stoke animosities that lie just beneath the party's surface. Under Mr. Harper, the Conservatives have kept a united front. But ideological fault-lines still run through the party. It's not clear what impact the inquiry will have on the Conservative Party at a time when its popularity has been rising. But it may put a damper on any hopes of an early election.

This will probably benefit the Liberals, who appear to need all the time they can get to put their own house in order. If anything, at the moment, they are the party which looks to be in greater danger of faction-fighting. Mr. Mulroney, meanwhile, is maintaining that the inquiry will vindicate him.

Maybe so, the Liberals may be saying to themselves. But they will hope it at least drags on for a while.