Given the number of millionaires and well-connected Central Canadians who have become prime ministers in Canada in the post-war period, the political rise of Stephen Harper really is quite remarkable.

Here is a Canadian of ordinary means with a young family who has risen from political obscurity in the early 1990s to the country’s top job. The rise is all the more remarkable in that the party he represents barely existed four years ago, before its merger of necessity.

So, how come we don’t see or hear much in the media about this remarkable development? Or, more to the point, why hasn’t this man caught on with Canadians — particularly when the main competitor, Stéphane Dion, is so charismatically challenged?

There is no sense blaming the media for overlooking Harper’s remarkable odyssey to power. After all, they have been busy reporting on something that is equally true about the prime minister: that he and his government have been secretive, unnecessarily combative and, well, petty. Instead of coming up with an inane slogan — “Canada’s New Government” — Conservative strategists should have concentrated on building up the prime minister’s emotional capital with ordinary Canadians as one of them.

Jean Chrétien had developed so much emotional capital with Canadians that, for most of his 10 years as prime minister, they were prepared to forgive him for almost anything, including choking a demonstrator on camera.

Most Canadians continued to see Chrétien as the “little guy from Shawinagan,” even as he was making millions on Bay Street during his 1986-90 hiatus from politics. This was because Chrétien may have been the best retail politician this country has ever produced, thanks to a long apprenticeship on Parliament Hill and mentors such as the late Mitchell Sharp.

In contrast, Harper began quarrelling with the media over control of questions as soon as he took office. Although his government had accomplished much until the agenda ran dry this spring, Harper still often sounds like an Opposition backbencher heaping invective on opponents.

Harper is developing as a strong speaker and is probably one of Canada’s more intelligent prime ministers. But he has been unwilling to develop as a retail politician.

A year ago, the Conservatives had quickly established themselves as a government that did things instead of dithering. Today, the Conservatives — unable to make a dash at the polls for a majority this past spring — are back to running neck and neck with the Liberals. And the prime minister is coming across as being mean-spirited with the Opposition and uncomfortable with Canadians.

Perception is reality in politics. And nobody likes a sore winner. Now, the prime minister’s handlers — and the boss himself — seem to be realizing these lessons. We have been seeing a softer and smoother PM lately.

July was a good month for Harper, despite terrible news coming out of Afghanistan and continuing controversy coming out of National Defence Headquarters, or “Fort Fumble,’’ as it is known in Ottawa. The PM’s trip to Latin America and the Caribbean was on message and virtually flawless from an operational standpoint.

But that trip alone won’t be enough to change public perceptions because Canadians don’t pay much attention to politics in the summer. However, it’s possible it could be remembered as the point at which Harper began to morph into a kinder, friendlier retail politician.

It will be interesting to see if Harper can recast himself this fall after squandering an opportunity to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Canadians. IE