Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Brian Mulroney was Canada's most unpopular prime minister when he stepped down in 1993. He's even less popular today after publication of a book that quotes him calling one rival a ``coward and a weakling'' and another a ``mean, dirty bastard.''

``The Secret Mulroney Tapes,'' by journalist Peter C. Newman, has sold almost 20,000 copies since it was released Sept. 12, the best start for a Canadian non-fiction book in 25 years. The book, based on 98 interviews with Canada's 18th leader during his nine years in office, dominated Toronto newspapers last week with headlines such as ``Mulroney Unmasked.''

``Canadians were starting to forgive Brian Mulroney,'' said Don Boudria, an opposition member of Parliament dubbed a ``Nazi'' by Mulroney. ``Now all of this stuff is coming to light.''

Mulroney, 66, left office with 90 percent of Canadians dissatisfied with his leadership after his Conservative Party doubled retail taxes and failed to pass a treaty to defuse tensions with French-speaking Quebec. He also championed the North American Free Trade Agreement that fed debate about Canada's increasing economic reliance on the U.S.

``Mulroney's problem is he is so self-centered and egotistical he had to let others know what he thinks of other people,'' Doug Harrison wrote in a letter to the Calgary Herald newspaper.

Luc Lavoie, a Mulroney spokesman, said Newman taped phone conversations without notifying Mulroney. The 76-year-old journalist, a former editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star who included Mulroney in his wedding party, was also supposed to show Mulroney the book before it was published, Lavoie said.

`Feels Betrayed'

``Mr. Mulroney feels betrayed by someone who had been a close friend of his since 1961,'' Lavoie said.

An editorial cartoon in the National Post on Sept. 14 depicted Newman stabbing Mulroney in the back with his pen.

Newman said in Calgary on Sept. 20 that Mulroney reneged on the review deal by not giving him access to documents from his tenure. Newman, who has written more than 20 books on Canadian leaders such as former Prime Ministers Pierre Elliott Trudeau, John Diefenbaker and Lester B. Pearson, said Mulroney told him not to write a ``puff job.''

``This is the real Mulroney,'' Newman told reporters following a speech in Calgary.

In the book, published by Bertelsmann AG's Random House Canada Ltd., few Canadian politicians are spared.

`Vain Person'

Former Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Jean Chretien was a ``mean, dirty bastard'' who hadn't read a book in 20 years, Mulroney is quoted as saying. Mulroney said Kim Campbell, who succeeded him as prime minister, was a ``vain person'' who spent too much time ``screwing around'' with her Russian boyfriend, according to the book.

The Ottawa press corps is dismissed as a ``phoney bunch of bastards'' who wouldn't give Mulroney credit for anything.

Mulroney, a friend of the family of U.S. President George W. Bush who spoke at the funeral of former President Ronald Reagan, said Trudeau, among Canada's most popular leaders, was a ``coward and a weakling'' who had an ``absolutely mediocre'' track record during his 15 years as prime minister. Trudeau died in 2000.

A message left for Chretien's assistant Ann Paris at the Montreal law firm Heenan Blaikie LLP wasn't returned. A message at the Council of Women World Leaders, of which Campbell is a member, wasn't immediately returned.

The book also reveals Mulroney's view of his legacy. He argues that the goods and services tax and the free-trade agreement with the U.S. and Mexico were unpopular measures that have bolstered Canada's economy.

``You cannot name a Canadian prime minister who has done as many significant things as I did, because there are none,'' Mulroney is quoted as saying.

Majorities

Mulroney won two majority governments, including the second-biggest in Canadian history, in 1984, before losing his popularity.

A decision by his wife, Mila, to spend C$212,796 ($181,939) redecorating the prime minister's residence in Ottawa also hurt him, said Allan Tupper, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia.

``There was just a storm of forces in the later years,'' Tupper said in a telephone interview. These included ``the growing sense of arrogance and distance from the electorate.''

With 55,000 copies printed in the first week, the book may be the best-selling non-fiction book in Canada since Peter Wright's ``Spycatcher'' reached bookstores in 1987, said Brad Martin, chief operating officer of Random House's Canadian division in Toronto.

``We're struggling to keep the books in stock,'' particularly in Ottawa and Montreal, Martin said in a telephone interview. ``We expect we could sell 100,000 before Christmas.''

Readers who can't get enough will have another chance next year. Mulroney, who spent time in the hospital this year after having a lesion removed from his lung, is writing his memoirs.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sean B. Pasternak in Toronto at spasternak@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 23, 2005 00:07 EDT