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Brian Mulroney, master of the solicitous phone chat, was down in the dumps last fall when he took a call from another politician who is said to be not particularly fond of telephone conversations.

On the other end of the line was Stephen Harper, calling to console Mr. Mulroney after the publication of Peter C. Newman's book, The Secret Mulroney Tapes. The book had greatly offended Mr. Mulroney, whose sometimes profane language was put on display in the publication, and shocked many Canadians. Mr. Harper was calling to cheer him up, just as he had when Mr. Mulroney fell seriously ill last spring.

"I think he was quite grateful that Harper was thinking of him," said a source close to the former prime minister. "Harper was calling him when he was sick too. Why wouldn't you?"

While it's hard to know just how close Mr. Mulroney and Mr. Harper are -- many sources say they speak, but not all that regularly -- it's clear that the former prime minister has some influence over the prime-minister-designate. Indeed, a good number of the men and women whose job it will be to help Mr. Harper with the transfer of office are former Mulroney confidantes and staffers.

Their presence is seen both as an effort by Mr. Harper to solidify the loyalty of the PC side of the party and to find professionals who know what it's like to build a new government largely from scratch. They include people like former Mulroney chief of staff Derek Burney and Maurice Archdeacon, a former inspector-general at CSIS who served in the Privy Council Office under Mr. Mulroney.

Camille Guibault, a former deputy chief of staff to Mr. Mulroney, is also on the team, taking a key role in helping to find staff, sources say. Also on the team is Elizabeth Roscoe, a former chief of staff to Mulroney heavyweight cabinet minister Barbara McDougall.

Sources say that most of Mr. Mulroney's influence is exerted through those who used to be around him.

But the former PM was also active during the recently completed campaign, speaking to Mr. Harper, but more often getting his points across through Senator Marjory LeBreton, his former appointments secretary, who travelled with Mr. Harper.

According to sources, Mr. Harper began calling Mr. Mulroney in the fall of 2004, a few months after the Conservative Party election defeat earlier that spring.

"They began developing a relationship," one source said. "Harper is a really smart guy who learns from his mistakes."

But it's a relationship that, while successful at patching together the Conservative Party, is seen as risky by some party members who say the PC side of the party can't be seen to be dominating the new administration.

"I just have a sneaking suspicion you'll see more PCs than old [Canadian Alliance] types, but if they're smart, they'll be very conscious of that," a well-connected Tory said.

"I think within a week or so, someone will start to tally up how many PC people or how many Canadian Alliance people are chiefs of staff, and that will probably upset a few people."

The trump card for those Alliance supporters, of course, is that the prime minister's job is held by one of them. Moreover, almost everyone knows that Mr. Harper is his own man, and that Mr. Mulroney's influence really doesn't go much beyond strategic advice.

For example, the old party crew that brought Mr. Mulroney to office is mostly broken up, and the success the Conservatives had in Quebec is mostly due to the work of a combination of workers from the Action Démocratique du Québec and the red machine of Quebec Premier Jean Charest.

In fact, the Montreal business community from which Mr. Mulroney received much support isn't too sure yet how to handle Mr. Harper. According to one source, they are at a loss to understand how the 10 newly elected Conservatives, all of whom are from outside the Montreal region, were able to win without their financial clout.

The Montreal corporate community understands that the party's power base has shifted to the West and if its members are to have any influence on the party, their ties to Mr. Mulroney will not be enough to increase that influence. Many are beginning to prepare now for the next election where they intend to play a much more significant role in a party that they believe has the potential to once again become a force in the province.

With a report from Campbell Clark