It has been fascinating watching politicians learning about the politics of a pandemic. It has been a learning experience for all of them. Some take naturally to the challenge, while others find it a struggle.
Thinking of the positive ones first, I have to admit that prime minister Justin Trudeau fell into the pandemic cesspool and came out smelling of roses. While I ridiculed his popping out of the Rideau Cottage, as though it was a cuckoo clock, those were very effective sessions. Not only did the media and the public pay attention but they came to trust his statements. Trudeau had reason to laugh at the opposition in parliament. He stood alone in front of the cottage and the listeners had every reason to believe him.
People such as Doctor Theresa Tam, Canada’s Public Health officer, brought the technical expertise to support the prime minister but not on the same set. Best to let her and the lesser politicians play back-up from an official site while the prime minister played his game as a single.
Interestingly, premier Doug Ford from Ontario does not have the younger Trudeau’s confidence. He seems afraid of his ignorance. Ford brings his health minister, his former treasurer, his education minister and other minions to dance a quadrille with him around the microphones.
But Ford still manages to get himself in trouble. He blusters when caught out. He announces that there will be an announcement—and you hope he remembers. He comes across too often as dull-witted and uncaring.
Premier François Legault of Quebec seems to be a cross between Robert Bourassa and Maurice Duplessis. You have to annoy him to get him to make the next move. I keep waiting to see him leading the police in sweeping people off the streets of Montreal.
But the one who really takes the cake is the premier of Alberta. He is almost as bad as Trump in the United States and that guy with the bad haircut in the United Kingdom. All of those men have proved conclusively that they are not effective leaders. Jason Kenney has been leading Alberta down the garden path for too long. He is a narcissist, a misogynist and a fool and seems to have forgotten all the lessons by his mentor Stephen Harper.
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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry
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