MONTERREY, MEXICO -- The delicate task of establishing personal rapport will be Paul Martin's first order of business when he meets U.S. President George W. Bush this week, the prime minister said yesterday. Improving relations south of the border requires more than a list of objectives and a sharp pencil -- it needs personal chemistry, Martin said during a flight to a special Summit of the Americas meeting.
"Getting to know (Bush) is obviously a very important part of this," he said on the prime minister's Airbus 310.
To that end, Martin is hoping to put his own informal style to use during the two-day summit, which will include a half-hour of private time with Bush tomorrow.
"Formal meetings -- I don't know what that gives you, it's photo ops . . . everyone has his speech to read," he said. "But at an informal meeting there's an exchange of opinions. For me that's very important."
Priority items -- the mad cow crisis, respect for the Canadian passport, Iraq reconstruction and softwood lumber -- will also be raised, he said.
Martin, who met Bush once before -- coincidentally also in Monterrey during a financing for development meeting about 18 months ago -- said he's looking forward to the chat.
"Countries represent interests, they represent their own interests and that is always going to predominate, but there's no doubt in the role that the personal side plays," he said.
That desire to get to know other leaders personally sets Martin apart from his predecessor, Jean Chretien, as he makes his first international foray as Canada's leader.
Chretien, who was criticized for a souring of relations with the U.S. in recent years, said friendships with other world leaders -- including the U.S. president -- were not necessary in world affairs.
Martin also said he'll try to discuss multilateralism with Bush. The lack of a United Nations mandate was a key reason for Canada's refusal to participate in the Iraq war.
"I certainly hope we can talk about Canada's broader international vision as well, what I believe is a very important decade, what I believe is a very important role the international institutions play."
In a meeting yesterday with Mexican President Vicente Fox, Martin said he would discuss common issues deriving from their relationship with the U.S., and their common trade interests.
Appearing relaxed, Martin joked that the trip was different from his travels as finance minister because "there's 30 reporters and I'm not flying commercial."
Several factors suggest Martin and Bush will hit it off.
Despite superficial differences in style, Bush is a drawling southerner, Martin a cautious northerner, both leaders hail from political families where the father was a prominent politician in his own right.
Add to that a healthy dose of respect by both for free enterprise -- Bush, a Republican, is likely to approve of Martin's success as a businessman -- and most observers expect the two men to get along well.
"They're going to hit it off and enjoy being alone in the backroom," predicted Henry Jacek, a political scientist at McMaster University in Hamilton. "Martin will know how to ingratiate himself with Bush."
Martin is known as a skilled negotiator internationally whose greatest strength may be meeting and organizing behind the scenes, Jacek noted.
Last year, a string of public insults by aides and MPs directed at the U.S. and at Bush personally -- in the most infamous an aide to Chretien called Bush a "moron" at a NATO summit in Prague -- brought the relationship between Chretien and Bush to a virtual standstill.
