Pursuing a Public Life: How to Succeed in the Political Arena

James Stewart (J.D.M.) speaks with Sergio Marchi about his book Pursuing a Public Life: How to Succeed in the Political Arena

Our politics are currently suffering formidable challenges. Our national discourse has become more polarized, increasingly divisive, and notably nastier. Consequently, many people are keeping their distance from public life, rejecting a political system that they deem broken and unrepairable. Public opinion surveys consistently reveal that public cynicism is at a record high, coupled by declining voter turnout. Many people are disengaged from public life.

The Honourable Sergio Marchi — city councillor, member of Parliament, cabinet minister, and ambassador — relates his experiences over his thirty-year political career. He shares the adventures, policy decisions, and lessons learned in an effort to shed light on the inner workings of a public life, from nomination meetings, to campaigning, to governing, to make it easier for those interested in making a difference to take the plunge into an exciting, meaningful, and purposeful profession.

Sergio Marchi has led a distinguished public life, as a community activist, city councillor, a Member of Parliament, and Minister for International Trade, Environment, and Citizenship and Immigration. After voluntarily leaving the political arena, he was appointed Canadian Ambassador to the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Agencies in Geneva. He lives in Quebec.

Image Credit: Dundurn Press