What WikiLeaks Revealed About Stephen Harper - "Vindictive Pettiness" Said US Ambassador To Canada

Stephen Harper was pretty friendly with the Bush Administration early on in his time as PM. Here is a sample of posts sent to Washington concerning Harper by the US Ambassador to Canada - appointed by the Bush, Republican administration.

“He has played the game of high-stakes, partisan politics well, but his reputation for decisiveness and shrewdness has been tarnished by a sometimes vindictive pettiness,”
David Wilkins, U.S. Ambassador to Canada

"Harper’s inner circle appears extremely small. Notoriously hard on staff … (Harper burned through a series of communications directors as opposition leaders and once reportedly told an aide that he liked to see the ‘fear’ in the eyes of prospective employees) he has tended to surround himself with like-minded people. As a result, some insiders say he lacks staff willing or able to act as an effective sounding-board or check his partisan instincts.”
David Wilkins, U.S. Ambassador to Canada

"“In office, Harper has rarely made the compromises typical of a minority (prime minister), nor built the bridges and informal channels that usually get things in a minority Parliament,”
David Wilkins, U.S. Ambassador to Canada

APTN