The Slim Fit Prime Minister
When looking at Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, you might think he is exceptionally handsome for a politician. Frisky, brown locks, magnificent, charming eyes, and a smile so bright it could end all grief in the world. Trudeau is what you could call a slim fit PM. He has a certain radiance, a capturing coolness, and he knows very well how to make good use of this appearance.
Courtesy of aljazeera.com
With only 43 years of age he became the leader of one of the biggest countries in the world and not only that; he also ended the rule of the Conservative Party, which lasted for nine years, and helped the Liberals get back to power. He convinced a surprisingly large majority of Canadians with his controversial beliefs, for which he vigorously espoused, e.g. the legalization of marijuana and the right of every woman to abort an unborn child. “Real change” was the motto of his campaign. The content was quite simple: The Harper period held back the potential of the Canadian economy and prevented a fair distribution of wealth because it privileged the richest, ignored the hurting middle class, and forced companies to cut jobs instead of investing in them. So far, a very typical liberal agenda.
However, what filled it with life were Trudeau’s stances on ethical and societal issues. These were what really accelerating Trudeau’s lead in the polls. Unlike Harper, he promised to take care of Canada’s heavily damaged relationship to its indigenous peoples, to faithfully engage in tackling climate change, and to withdraw the troops from Iraq. Of course, he also received a lot of backlash from the Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party. The main points of criticism: Justin Trudeau is simply too inexperienced to be handed the lead over Canada. He is promising heaven on earth for everybody, created with money the Liberals don’t have, causing the country to take billions in debt. The Conservative Party acknowledged his image as the good-looking revolutionist as well when they broadcasted an ad showing a group of business people assessing Trudeau’s PM application. The final comment: “He’s just not ready - nice hair, though.”
Courtesy of flickr.com
What makes Trudeau such a win for the Liberal Party definitely is his ability to talk to the public, to impress with symbolic gestures and speeches. These skills were much needed to win the election. What will be needed to keep the trust of the people is the ability to fulfill promises and to prove that Trudeau means “Real change”. So far, most of what we’ve seen from him was rather symbolic. On July 4 he became the first Canadian PM to march in a gay pride parade, he presented a truly diverse cabinet on November 4, 2015 and he attended a Sikh ceremony on April 2016. The many fundamental changes he has promised have yet to make the papers-because he has achieved virtually none of them. The new government has had less than one year to implement its ambitious agenda, so most Canadians are still enthusiastic and faithful that Trudeau will eventually turn out to be the messiah they’ve been waiting for.
One group that definitely sees a savior in Canada’s Prime Minister is a quite remarkable society in Finland. The so called “Finland-Trudeau-Society” is a surprisingly active social media group with over 3,000 followers on Facebook. They promote Trudeaun politics in their home country and ask for better politicians in the style of their Canadian idol, as one of their merchandise t-shirts can tell you: “I blame Justin Trudeau for my high standards in politicians”. But there’s a dangerous trend this society supports. Laura Ala-Kokko, a founding member of the Finnish Trudeau fans, admits: “It's not so much about the precise content of the politics”. They rather admire his style of conducting politics - laid back, with a smile on his face, relaxed, and not at all serious or grim.
Politicians do lose credibility when they don’t keep in touch with the people. Nevertheless, you should never judge a book by its cover, even if it’s as beautiful as Justin Trudeau. We will see if he can live up to the people’s expectations and be more than just a handsome guy in a slim fitting suit.
