Gimbol's diatribe and screed

Has the main stream media gone Chris Mathews?

Reason I ask is that at the mere mention that Justin Trudeau intends to announce in a week that he intends to run for liberal leader, and the political punditry is falling over themselves to be the first one to give teh young prince a tongue bath.
That being said, I'd like to point out that the political and media landscape has changed quite drastically since 1965.  Its also relevant to remember the political axiom that a politicians worst fears is being defined before they get the chance to define themselves.  Justin let that cat out of thebag when he keeps insisting that he isn't his father.  His problem is that there are a great many liberals, probably the majority of the ones that have convinced him he should be running for leader, that have expectations that he is to finish what his father started.

Shall I go down the list?
Lets see?
Two numbers come to mind, 13 and 22.
13 is what the unemployment rate was when Pierre was PM, and 22 is how high the prime interest rate went.
Lets not forget the imposition of the NEP and the capital flight out of the oil patch, or the repatriation of the Canada Act.

That last one is a third thanks to his father.  However the scads and scads of liberal's that pine for the "good old days of being in power" are no doubt hanging that last bit of unfinished work as the holy grail in a mental list of what they expect St. Justin to achieve, namely to get Quebec to sign on to the constitution.

That one is the one thing that will cause the liberals to lose nay momentum they expect to get out of the shiny pony.
The reason is that in that game of finding out what Quebec wants is a game of diminshing returns.
The ROC came to the realization of what Quebec wants when the Charlottetown Accord got tabled.
Quebec wants an open ended deal where they can veto any legislation if it is not to their benefit.
Basically enshrining in the constitution that Canada is a power sharing agreement between Quebec and the ROC complete with the liberal rule of alternating between PM's from Quebec and the ROC (the ROC in this case meaning in and around the GTA).

Justin's predicament however doesn't restrict itself to just the holy grail, it extends to any and all the things his father did as PM, and all the failures. In ordere for Justin to redefine himself he has to become his father's worst critic, he has to admit that mistakes where made, otherwise Justin will be defined by his own party as the guy that is going to continue with his fathers agenda.
And trust me on this, the conservatives are prepared to remind Canadian's what PET did.
You know, like the numbers 13 and 22?

Labels: Liberal leadership race

posted by gimbol @ 2:18 AM