With the summer of 2005 fast approaching the Conservative Party announced that Stephen Harper would hit the barbecue circuit in an effort to improve his image, which he reluctantly conceded could use a dose of levity.
"My wife said to me recently: 'You do need to have more fun,'" Harper recalled following a national Conservative caucus meeting.
"She said: 'You're not having enough fun, even by your standards.' So we'll do some of that."
Harper's summer socializing would be an effort to change people's perception of the leader, who has been accused of being too stiff and serious.
