Trudeau blunders will sink one-term wonder boy

by Andre Marin

When it comes to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the bloom left the peach some time ago. That is to say that voters don’t see him with the same glow as before.

The youthful Trudeau, who’s meagre credentials include part-time drama teacher, pulled off an admirable victory in the last election, pulling his party from third place to first place.

Carefully planned photo ops of yoga poses at work, showing off his tattoos, crashing weddings, running topless through city streets and smiling broadly for the cameras promising “sunny ways” was all it took apparently. He also promised deficits, which I thought would sink him.

But no – he prevailed through sheer charisma and by contrasting himself to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who many Canadians had grown to view as a dull and angry man.

A new Angus Reid Institute survey has some sobering news for our flash-in-the-plan PM. Trudeau’s approval rating is net negative 23%  (just 35% approve; 58% disapprove).

In Trudeau’s magical world of wonders, all you have to do is look good and incessantly pursue ideological gender-based ideas. The deficit? Don’t worry about it. It’ll balance itself – which we know is pure lunacy. It’s now many times larger than he promised. In the event of the predicted economic downturn in the year to come, where is our landing cushion? We have none.

Trudeau has made plenty of rookie mistakes since assuming office.

First, when asked why Canada had not been more vocal in obtaining the release of three Canadians being detained by the Chinese, his naive response was telling: “I remember standing in the House and challenging Mr. Harper to pick up the phone and get this Canadian released. Sometimes, politicizing or amplifying the level of public discourse may be satisfying in the short term but does not contribute to the outcome we all want, which is for Canadians to be safe and secure.”

Trudeau being “political?” Who knew?

It wasn’t too long ago the Chinese affectionately nicknamed him “little potato.” Well, negotiating for the release of three captive Canadians is, as Trudeau recently found out, big potatoes.

Second, he surrounded himself with a weak cabinet. Minister of the Environment Catherine McKenna, who many pundits and opposing politicians perhaps inappropriately nicknamed “climate Barbie” has come across both as sanctimonious and shallow.

Mélanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie is competing with Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan for being the most incompetent minister.

Joly has jumped from one blunder to another. How can one justify spending $5.6 million on a 25-day Parliament Hill rink to cap off the Canada 150 celebrations?

In reality, she’s the runner-up for worst cabinet minister. The winner has to be ethically-challenged Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan nicknamed “Shameless O’Regan” by veteran journalist Robert Fife and others who add he was the “most incompetent” minister in cabinet. He’s accused of not understanding how his department works.

O’Regan also attacked well-respected veterans advocate Sean Bruyea for defamation for insinuating that he was a “liar” who “was deliberately untruthful to serve some dishonest personal agenda.” Bruyea sued and lost and is now appealing the decision.

Finally, O’Regan had the gall to compare leaving his job at CTV news where he was provided an allowance for Canali suits at Harry’s to soldiers being discharged from the army. Canali suits go for about $2,000 each. Did leaving them behind cause him PTSD? It shows how out of touch he is. A completely insensitive and just plain dumb comment.

In his year-end interviews, Trudeau maintained it was all business as usual heading into the October 2019 election, meaning what you see is what you get and will keep getting. It’s a sure recipe for a one-term government, about to become third party once again. You read it here first.

Follow Andre Marin at @ont_andremarin

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