Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper appeared at the National Arts Centre gala a couple of days ago. His appearance was surprising for a couple of reasons. One, he is not known as a supporter of the Arts. Two, he played piano and sang!

He chose the Beatles song “With a Little Help From My Friends,” politically topical in light of Harper’s desperate need to pass every bill he introduces and every confidence vote or else face a new federal election. Again.

The fact that it’s a Ringo tune may indicate a sign of humility, as well, although it’s more likely he just didn’t want to be compared to any vocal powerhouses. Still, he performed quite well. Quite well, indeed.

This guy Harper is a not-so-popular conservative who was once referred to as “George Bush’s vice president” by the brilliant (and Canadian, therefore largely unknown to Americans) political satirist Rick Mercer. He seems to be Prime Minister by some sort of political default that Canadian federal elections allow.

World leaders are known to play a tune once in a while. Bill Clinton had his saxophone, Harry Truman and Richard Nixon played piano, and way back when, George Washington played the flute. George Bush is notorious for playing guitar while Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people, and of course Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned.

Watching Stephen Harper’s performance (below), I’m somehow reminded of Paul McCartney’s 2003 appearance in Red Square with Russian President Putin singing and dancing in the crowd. Politicians just love the Beatles, don’t they?

Six-Eye Jackson

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