Liberal Party of Canada Leadership

[ModlrMike]

I think they've misplaced the decimal one digit to the right.

 

[Edward Campbell]

I think they've misplaced the decimal one digit to the right.

:rofl:  :goodpost:

 

[Edward Campbell]

I did not watch Trudeau 0.2's* announcement, nor did I even get all the way through the multi-page version posted on the Globe and Mail web site, (I read through it, to the end, but my eyes skipped (large) bits) but Bruce Anderson did, apparently, and his assessment is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/justin-trudeaus-opening-speech-did-not-prove-his-popularity-is-deserved/article4584969/

Justin Trudeau’s opening speech did not prove his popularity is deserved

BRUCE ANDERSON
Special to The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Oct. 03 2012

If Justin Trudeau’s launch event was about proving that he could declare his intention to seek the highest elected office in Canada and not stumble out of the gate, a B grade would be fair.

However, if the point was to prove that his popularity is deserved, because he has what it takes to win a general election and go on to be a great Prime Minister, the speech was no better than a D.

This first event of his race did little to improve his chances of winning, but he and his advisers were probably hoping it simply didn’t harm those prospects. His team gave him a safe speech, and he delivered it without incident.

But for a party that must find a way to command a place at the centre of the country’s political debate, last night offered something between faint hope, and a bit of hope.

Mr. Trudeau’s speech proved that he is fluent in four languages: French and English, Politics and Liberal. For a man whose stated mission is to replace worn out, stilted politics with something new and dynamic, the speech contained more than a few off-the-shelf bromides. That doesn’t make it a bad speech, only one with a rather glaring internal inconsistency. Apart from an awkward reference to the BlackBerry, it was the kind of big P political speech that could have been heard at any time in the last several decades.

Mr. Trudeau also showed his comfort with the dialect that Liberals have used to rally each other for decades. Great effort was paid to remind people of the Goldilocks DNA of the party: not too right, left, blue, green or red, just the right amount of whatever you are looking for.

This positioning of course is the secret sauce of Canadian politics, except that it’s not really a secret anymore. In any event, voters have heard it so often they actually need more substance to know what it means and whether they can trust it.

Mr. Trudeau’s stated reason for not talking about big ideas or even small solutions is that he’s not presenting himself as the person with all the answers. This might turn out to be enough to win the leadership, and if so, that would be unhappy news for those voters looking for a credible option between the Conservatives and the NDP. Not having all the answers is not a great argument for presenting none.

The most interesting part of this speech may have come when Mr. Trudeau asked voters last night to trust him, trust him like they would trust a neighbour with their spare key. I don’t know about you, but of my nearest 10 neighbours, there are few I would trust with my spare key, and I trust them because they let me know more about the kind of people they are than Justin Trudeau seemed willing, or perhaps able, to do last night.

Trust is a currency voters seldom tender these days. To do so, they need to be convinced that there is something very real, and unusually important on offer: huge competency, a tested and impressive character, a powerful idea, some very clear goals.

As I watched, hoping to get a better feel for what makes Mr. Trudeau tick, I kept remembering the notion of how great acting is recognized: it doesn’t look like acting. I couldn’t help but feel that great effort was put into avoiding spontaneity and risk, which in the end revealed that Mr. Trudeau had moves, not so much “like Jagger,” but rather like so many politicians who had preceded him.

It’s courageous of Mr. Trudeau to declare that trust is what he’s seeking, and it’s a good thing: Canadian politics would well served if the ballot question in the next election were: which of these leaders do you trust the most, rather than which outcome do you most want to avoid.

Mr. Trudeau’s idea is to make politics feel more authentic, more true to its original purpose, less of a caricature of itself. But the staging, substance and style of last night’s event seemed not much of a departure from the norm. Which, ironically, is both a measure of its modest success, and its partial failure.

Bruce Anderson is one of Canada’s leading pollsters and communications strategists. He is a member of the CBC’s popular At Issue Panel, a regular Globe blogger, and Senior Adviser with NATIONAL Public Relations.

I sincerely hope, for the sake of the Liberal Party of Canada and for Canadian politics, that Mark Garneau, at least, joins the race. Somewhere there must be one Liberal with ideas.

_____
* Thanks Mike. 

 

[OldSolduer]

I'm a Westerner....born there, raised there.

The name "Trudeau" evokes pretty powerful memories - not good ones - of "fuddle duddle" , the middle finger and the NEP in the early 80s.

I am not all that fond of Mr. Trudeau, younger or his father....

 

[Journeyman]

BRUCE ANDERSON
Special to The Globe and Mail

Canadian politics would well served if the ballot question in the next election were: which of these leaders do you trust the most, rather than which outcome do you most want to avoid

Sadly, I suspect that this is how the election will ultimately be framed.

 

[Kat Stevens]

I'm a Westerner....born there, raised there.

The name "Trudeau" evokes pretty powerful memories - not good ones - of "fuddle duddle" , the middle finger and the NEP in the early 80s.

I am not all that fond of Mr. Trudeau, younger or his father....

A pox on all his generations...

 

[bridges]

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/10/02/kelly-mcparland-justin-mimics-ignatieff-with-early-foray-to-alberta/

Kelly McParland: Justin mimics Ignatieff with early foray to Alberta

Kelly McParland | Oct 2, 2012 12:30 PM ET
...and luxuriant locks...  seriously?  :

"A couple of years later he was comparing Stephen Harper to the devil and insulting anyone who voted for him (as in almost all of Alberta)." 

Well, 67% of the 56% who showed up, voted for the CPC.  That's around 37% of eligible voters who bothered to cast votes for Mr. Harper and his representatives.  It was enough to almost sweep the province in our first-past-the-post system, but I'd hardly refer to it as "almost all" of the province.

I'm a Westerner....born there, raised there.
The name "Trudeau" evokes pretty powerful memories - not good ones - of "fuddle duddle" , the middle finger and the NEP in the early 80s.

I am not all that fond of Mr. Trudeau, younger or his father....

Me too, on the westerner part.    We don't all have the same politics - I just don't want to promote the idea that some easterners seem to betray, of westerners being a homogeneous lot. 

 

[Journeyman]

...I just don't want to promote the idea that some easterners seem to betray, of westerners being a homogeneous lot.

True westerners are. 

 

[Kat Stevens]

Because Maritimers, Newfoundlanders, Quebecois, and Ontarioids certainly aren't. Errr, wait... never mind.

 

[PMedMoe]

Me too, on the westerner part.    We don't all have the same politics - I just don't want to promote the idea that some easterners seem to betray, of westerners being a homogeneous lot.

Did you mean portray?  Just curious.....

 

[bridges]

Did you mean portray?  Just curious.....

Nope, I meant betray = reveal involuntarily, through comments & assumptions.  Not everyone, not all the time.  Bit of a pet peeve and I might be hypersensitive to it.        ;D

 

[PMedMoe]

Nope, I meant betray = reveal involuntarily, through comments & assumptions.  Not everyone, not all the time.  Bit of a pet peeve and I might be hypersensitive to it.        ;D

Fair enough.  I'll back out now....

Politics....    :boring:

 

[Journeyman]

Politics....    :boring: 

There, there, little girl; don't you worry your pretty little head with all this man talk.  >


Yes, I know other females are participating in this discussion.....and that they can vote and everything!  :stirpot:

 

[bridges]

There, there, little girl; don't you worry your pretty little head with all this man talk.  >


Yes, I know other females are participating in this discussion.....and that they can vote and everything!  :stirpot:

ZZzzzz.... wait, what?  What'd I miss? 

It's ok - I probably won't be voting for my local Liberal candidate no matter who the new leader is.  Unless there's some necessity for strategic voting...not likely in my riding though. 

 

[Edward Campbell]

Very smart move on Justin Trudeau's part: forcefully repudiate his father's National Energy Policy and, at the same time, distance himself from Thomas Mulcair and contest some political key terrain, provincial rights, with Stephen Harper.

 

[PanaEng]

Justin Trudeau shouldn't be underestimated, Mulroney says
Liberal leadership hopeful kicks off campaign with Calgary and Vancouver events
CBC News
Posted: Oct 3, 2012 6:01 PM ET
Last Updated: Oct 4, 2012 9:00 AM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/10/03/calgary-justin-trudeau-liberal-leadership.html

Mulroney called Trudeau a "talented" and "fine young man," adding that the 40-year-old MP's "youth is an advantage."

"People who trivialize his achievements and hold out little hope for his prospects ought to be very careful," said Mulroney in an interview with the CBC's Amanda Lang. "Life doesn't work that way. And there are always surprises in political life. And he's capable of delivering a major one if they underestimate him."

However, Trudeau's lack of experience as a critic on a major policy file is considered by some to be a weakness in his leadership bid.

Still, Mulroney cautioned rival parties to "be careful."

"This is not an untalented guy," he said. "I was Opposition leader when his father was prime minister. And we didn't agree on anything. But I can tell you this, he was a very tough, able guy and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree … if I were leading a political party up there I'd treat him with considerable respect."

It was Trudeau’s father who brought in the National Energy Program, which was widely hated by Albertans and is often blamed for why the party does so poorly in the province. The initiative sought to give more control over the energy industry to the federal government.

“I promise you I will never use the wealth of the west as a wedge to gain votes in the east,” said Trudeau, drawing the biggest applause of the speech.

“It is wrong to use our natural wealth to divide Canadians against one another, it was the wrong way to govern Canada in the past. It is the wrong way today and it will be the wrong way in the future. It's not the politics of division that help make Canada strong.”

more in link

I followed Marc Garneau's performance during last election and previous Liberal Leadership campaign and, as much as I hate to say it, was not very impressed with his political abilities - hope they have improved.

 

[Remius]

Very smart move on Justin Trudeau's part: forcefully repudiate his father's National Energy Policy and, at the same time, distance himself from Thomas Mulcair and contest some political key terrain, provincial rights, with Stephen Harper.

True.  What I think I am seeiing is Trudeau defining himself before someone else does.  I have to admit, going to Alberta first was ballsy.  It looks like he's treating this leadership race as one that involves all Canadians and not just the party faithful.  Which I find interesting because he could gain ground early using this tactic, not just at the party level but at the national level.  Important when you wantto be seen as the guy who can win for your party.  We'll have to see what comes of this when the hard questions and attacks come his way.

 

[bridges]

True.  What I think I am seeiing is Trudeau defining himself before someone else does.  I have to admit, going to Alberta first was ballsy and smart!.  It looks like he's treating this leadership race as one that involves all Canadians and not just the party faithful. 

(Edit mine.)  Yep, nip that baggage in the bud.  It will be good to hear more of what he has to say, in due course.

 

[a_majoor]

The big danger for the Liberals is there are unrealistic expectations about the Young Dauphin, since he is essentially a blank canvas which a largely uncritical media has painted their hopes and dreams on. Looking south, we see what happens when this process is taken to extremes, Barrack Obama was a blank slate in 2008, and was carefully cocooned until last night, when the entire myth imploded during the Presidential debate.

Since he is a sitting member in Parliament, his real life vetting without the protection of the media will happen soon enough (indeed it has already happened to a certain extent in the Blogosphere, where his outbursts in Parliament and stated preference for an independent Quebec over a Conservative Canada were dissected and laid out at length) when Prime Minister Harper and the Hon Tomas Mulcair turn their guns on him.

Can he win the leadership? Quite probably; the Liberal Party seems to have imbibed the "insert saviour here" Kool Aid. Can he be an effective Parliamentary leader? Who knows? There is no real record to examine. Can he win the election? I strongly suspect the answer will be "No", as the CPC holds "New Canada" and the NDP will put everything into holding their new found stronghold in Quebec. The LPC overall have failed to make any sort of compelling argument as to why their platform should be considered by Canadians (indeed they have no platform, and have had none for years), so when people look for a reason to vote, they may realize there isn't anything beyond a smile and a haircut to vote for.

 

[OldSolduer]

It may be a small thing, but his statement that we should not use the word "barbaric" to describe honour  killings (murder) tells me he lives in an ivory tower.

I don't trust him, nor do I think he is suited to lead a major political party in Canada. He could become Prime Minister, not in the next few years but further on.

Stephen Harper may come off like a cold fish, but he's at least competent IMO.