HOW TO THINK ABOUT IT No more “Golden Boy.” Trudeau’s dashing looks and magnetic charisma, coupled with progressive policies like tackling climate change and promoting inclusivity, made him a liberal-democratic darling soon after his 2015 election. But that image gave way to multiple flubs that caused varying degrees of damage, from botched photo ops to accusations of pressuring a subordinate for political gain. The latest? Revelations that he donned blackface and brownface on multiple occasions. Yet none of that seemed enough to dissuade voters from backing the former high school teacher and son of a former prime minister. Still, Monday’s results mean Trudeau’s brand isn’t nearly as powerful as it once was. Routine right. Although armed with plenty of ammunition against Trudeau, the conservatives clearly weren’t able to do much with it. Observers suggest that Scheer, a relatively unknown political commodity, focused too much on either attacking Trudeau’s character or promoting an uninspired economic platform of tax cuts — or both. For their part, the liberals appeared able to inflict pain on the 40-year-old Scheer by casting him as a humdrum social conservative. And while Scheer’s party appears to have won the popular vote, it’s mostly because of the predictably impressive showing in Canada’s western provinces. Meanwhile, the fledgling far-right People’s Party of Canada was denied even a single seat. New realities. Either way, not only is Trudeau the first leader in decades to have lost the popular vote yet won the election, but he’ll also navigate that new political landscape under more challenging circumstances. Progressive achievements of the past, like legalizing marijuana or having a gender-balanced Cabinet, may now pale in comparison to a shaken alliance with its southern neighbor or the growing sociopolitical divide with the oil-producing but economically challenged west. And while the Canadian economy remains strong and unemployment low, more than half of the population believes a recession is coming. So neither Trudeau nor his conservative opponents should rest easy. “Canadians should expect to be back at the ballot box before too long,” writes one local commentator. Middle of the road. But there are also signs that Trudeau carefully tailored his policy to run straight down the center — and that it worked. Take, for instance, his $3.4 billion purchase of an oil pipeline to boost Canada’s oil industry, while also implementing a carbon tax. Or his promise to scrap the first-past-the-post electoral system, in a nod to leftists, only to flip-flop two years later. And so far, it’s not like that hurt him much: One independent observer found that Trudeau kept (or is still sticking to) a staggering 92 percent of his promises. Taken together, such a hybrid approach, even if it means breaking policy pledges, may have served as both a political lifesaver and a blueprint for the future. |
