It is Justin Trudeau’s political instincts that never cease to amaze the older apparatchiks in the Liberal Party. It is remembering a long argument with the late Senator Keith Davey some 30 years ago over Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau just mentioning his family in a speech. If you had sweated as hard on that speech as this writer, you hardly want to see it spiked because you have ignored some damn taboo of an up-tight prime minister.
But Keith won (it was his job). And the PM gave a bloody lecture on economics to a bored Canadian electorate. It was the beginning of the end for Pierre Trudeau.
It is watching Pierre’s eldest son at work that is a joy. He brings his lovely and very pregnant wife and their darling kids on screen and with him in spirit at the Montreal convention. He is hardly using them. They are a fact of his life and part of him. They are integral to the package. They belong.
Maybe it is his mother’s influence on Justin. Pierre Trudeau could never control her the way he controlled others around him. Those he could not control had to deal with him on an intellectual level. And on that level, Pierre had few equals. Margaret obviously made the effort to work with him but she must have been shut out too often.
Justin grew up seeing that emotional upheaval. It made him his own man. It makes him a better husband, a loving father. And created a strong-willed political leader who knows where he is going and how to get there.
His political instincts are a joy to watch. The Liberal Party has been arguing about legalizing marijuana for the past 50 years. Justin brought it forward and let it sit there. Some might have gulped but his instinct was absolutely right. His support for Keystone XL pipeline is wrong environmentally but that case has still to be made. Justin can accept it either way. It is Harper who is hung by it.
And Justin is the leader that Canada needs at this time in its history. He can restore our nation’s prestige on the world stage. He can take the bold steps into the future. These steps still need to be studied and better defined but it will take his leadership to bring them to being.
What Justin’s father never understood was the emotion of politics. Pierre Trudeau left that to others. Justin understands it. It is what makes him a strong leader.
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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry
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