Political Bookshelf with STEWART KIFF
Power: Where Is It? Donald J. Savoie
I
n his newest book, Power: Where Is It? Donald J. Savoie continues a successful and thoughtful deliberation on how the Canadian political sys- tem actually works. Power is the latest in a long line of very well
written, quality books ostensibly about Canadian government by the prolific and thoughtful author. Savoie knows of what he writes. A former senior
public servant in the Canadian system, he is now a respected professor at the University of Moncton and is of noted influence through his large number of writings on Public Administration. This book is not really about power per se, but it
is much more about where has power been in the Canadian political system, where it is now, what are the sources of power and where it is going. For people outside of “the system”, this kind of intel- lectualisation would be pretty dull. For those of us who are students of Canadian
politics and involved in the system, this is grip- ping stuff and pretty useful. I must commend him for taking on a very challenging subject, as there are few more nebulous topics than who really has power in a complex system like Canadian govern- ment and the other leading Anglo-American De- mocracies like Britain and the United States. His interpretation of where power lies right now is an incredibly valid, timely and useful analysis. In Canada, power has become more concen-
trated in the Prime Minister and his key advisors in the Canadian system. Parliament, caucus and the Cabinet have fallen in influence. Savoie explains why. He cites increasing complexity in government and the suffocating complexity of any program or process so that only very powerful individuals have the ability to bend the system to their will. He argues, with solid backing, that certain in-
dividuals in our current system have become in- creasingly powerful actors. This is different from his experience when he entered the Canadian Public Service, where several specific line ministries had significant power, particularly External Affairs. I found the book provided me with a good ana- lytical framework to better understand power in government.
I had a couple of reservations though, and be- cause it is such a good book, I feel comfortable in discussing these reservations. In particular, the whole theme around power strikes me as a bit forced because the book also is
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about Donald J. Savoie, a lead player and man with considerable connections in the Canadian govern- mental system. It is also very much his personal view about where power is within the system. Another shortcoming seems to be that Savoie has held back from telling his readers what he re- ally thinks. Savoie is a fairly prominent man, and he makes it clear in his writing that in some ways he is privy to confidences. And sorry reader, he is simply not going to tell you everything. So instead, Savoie teases the reader by suggesting the content of these confidences but refrains from providing full disclosure. That brings us to the last criticism of Savoie – he still thinks like an elitist civil servant. After reading this book, I am not really clear what he believes in, if anything. Even as the senior guy on the block he seems more detached than engaged. He is hiding his opinions behind his analysis. I wish he would have shared more of his true opinions in this book. It would have been an even better read if he had. What Savoie does best in this book is to identify
how individuals are currently the crux of power within the Anglo-American democracies, particu- larly Canada. It is in this clarity and his understanding of on- going themes within the Canadian Public Service that provides so much value for this work that I give it a strong recommendation.
Stewart Kiff is the president of Solstice Public Affairs. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at
stewart@solsticecanada.ca.
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