In less than a year the Liberal Party of Canada will be choosing a permanent leader. We already know that it will not be interim leader Bob Rae, who – surprise, surprise – announced that he was forsaking the race.His decision opens up an interesting playing field. It’s open season for many more candidates, including Justin Trudeau, who is stealing the show.
For now, Trudeau junior seems to want to downplay his potential candidacy. Don’t be fooled by his tales of being unsure whether he wants to take the plunge or not. By way of a performance that has become typically routine, he will one minute say he is undecided, but the next will be sending clear signals that he is ready for courtship. He kept his door shut these past months but his latest declarations seem to indicate that it is now ajar. His stance is something like: “Well, not really, but if the crowds want me, maybe”.
Many Liberal partisans see him as the party’s saviour. These people are nostalgic. They see in the Trudeau name a past they wish to resurrect. That is why they are so excited at the thought of his candidacy. But Trudeau senior’s time of glory faded away thirty years ago. A huge time lapse in politics. Politics’ very nature and the pan-Canadian dynamic’s evolution have changed quite a bit since the Trudeau era.
To date, even though a lot of hope has been placed upon Justin’s – the son – shoulders, he has been incapable of stepping out of his illustrious fathers’ shadow. In fact, his few stabs at discussing public policy dossiers have been somewhat ridiculed. We’ll remember, for example, his blunt statement that he would rather live in a sovereign Quebec than Harper-run Canada. There is no doubt that the Conservatives have been safekeeping this precious bit of information.
There is nothing, really, to deem him a choice candidate as potential prime minister. This reality, of course, is only valid if the militants’ choice is based on intellectual qualities and the ability to juggle the many public policy challenges that constantly swarm political party leaders. Unfortunately for us, and fortunately for him, it appears that many hang on to the Trudeau name. And nothing more. Zilch.
But who cares; for Justin Trudeau the best thing to do could be to enter the race. Not to win, but to straighten out the party, enhance its intellectual profile, which it needs, and position itself for the next leadership race. Because, most likely, the next Liberal leader will be another transitional leader.
It is indeed difficult to imagine that the party could win the next general election. Even as the Harper government is doing everything in its power to alienate the Canadian electorate, it is evidently too early in its mandate to have inflicted long lasting damages.
But back to the Liberal Party. If Justin Trudeau decides to skip his turn, the race should prove boring. Let’s face it: pickings, from the benches, are thin.
What he must decide, then, is whether he has enough fire in him to lead an opposition party for the next six years.
It could be to his advantage, however, should they want him that badly, that militants allow him to fail at least two elections.
His decision will be enlightening as to the true state of the party, glimpsed from within.
Translation Monique Kroeger
