Brian Mulroney's long bet on history paid off

On the day he announced his intention to resign as prime minister after nearly nine years in office, Brian Mulroney appealed to the verdict of future generations.

«It will now be up to history to place a definitive judgment on our efforts and our legacy,» he said.

Thirty years later, in one of his last public speeches, Mulroney passed his own verdict on his political history — a judgment that Justin Trudeau, another beleaguered prime minister now nearly nine years in office, quoted in the House of Commons last week to mark Mulroney's passing:

«I have learned over the years that history is unconcerned with the trivia and the trash of rumours and gossip floating around Parliament Hill,» Mulroney said. «History is only concerned with the big ticket items that have shaped the future of Canada.»

In 1993, Mulroney was perhaps compelled to appeal to distant opinion — because the opinions of the moment were so often unforgiving. But Mulroney, who was called on to eulogize two American presidents, surely came to know as well as anyone what history remembers and why, particularly at moments such as these.

By the time he resigned, his government had endured its share of controversies (tunagate, guccigate, various other scandals barely remembered now). Two of his attempts at constitutional reform had ended in failure — the latter was defeated in a national referendum. The economy had gone into recession for two years, his landmark trade deal was viewed with skepticism by many and he had implemented a highly unpopular new tax, the GST.

On the day he announced his intention to step aside, Mulroney's office released a 34-page list of his government's accomplishments. The nation was not in a mood to read it.

«Mulroney really had no option but