Will Trudeau Shine in the Sun?

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 16) February 19, 2014

Trudeau’s Time in the Sun Has Come – Will Trudeau Shine?

Two of Canada’s most important political operatives (Prime Minister Steven Harper and  Leader of the Official Opposition, Thomas Mulcair) are scrambling, each trying for different reasons, to discredit the upstart leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau.  Last April Mr. Trudeau emerged as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and a persona wrapped around his youthful looks and his father’s legacy.  His political opponents too quickly came to the conclusion that Justin Trudeau had no substance and aired their demeaning views nationwide – surprise, surprise – Justin Trudeau’s rating in political polls soared with the Canadian public thinking that Mr. Trudeau offered something different, HOPE.  What Mr. Harper and Mr. Mulcair didn’t realize, they were in part responsible for Mr. Trudeau’s success.  Following are a few examples of Mr. Harper and Mr. Mulcair’s miscalculations and errors: 

Mr. Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada

Mr. Harper’s personal credibility (and his ranking in the polls) suffered terribly in the past year and highlighted by his dismal performance in the House of Commons and his possible role in directing the activities of the “independent” parliamentary chamber of sober second thought.  The public expressed their suspicion and disappointment in the many polls taken, all strongly suggesting that Mr. Harper was/is wrong and his government is definitely going in the wrong direction.  More recently Mr. Harper’s government has again shown its arrogance with the introduction of the Fair Election’s Act – here Canada’s chief electoral officer has labeled Harper’s proposal to be “an affront to democracy”. 

Mr. Mulcair and the New Democratic Party of Canada

New Democrat leader Thomas Mulcair has also damaged his credibility with the electorate.  His poorly thought out positions on Senate reform (Mr. Mulcair feels the Senate should be abolished) and the negative views voiced in the United States on the Keystone XL pipeline debate reveals a lack of statesmanship and a lack of understanding of international relations with the United States – at the same time Mr. Mulcair wiped out the brownie points he accrued with the Canadian public on his masterful performance opposite the prime minister in the Senate scandal debate.  Mr. Mulcair has an added problem in that his power base is in Quebec and that makes him particularly vulnerable opposite the Justin Trudeau factor and yes, the Trudeau legacy factor. So is there more to the Trudeau image than his good looks and engaging personality?  Is there more substance than his coup last month on Senate reform when he boldly declared Liberal Senators to be “Independent Senators”?  Well Canadians are going to find out this weekend at the Liberal policy conference in Montreal where Mr. Trudeau is scheduled to make two critical policy speeches – the big question, Will Trudeau Shine?