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Merlin M's avatar

To make it easier for all Canadians to understand I will put national security into context. If Telford’s testimony could in any way hurt the Liberal Party then it is off limits as the Liberal party equals Canada. Easier now?

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George Skinner's avatar

Gerald Butts noted in the 2015 election that "arrogance is the Liberal Party's kryptonite." Something that was apparent after being out of power and condemned to diminishing status as a 3rd or 4th party for a decade seems to have faded from Liberal awareness if it was ever really present. Shortly after the 2015 election, the Liberals were already proclaiming "Canada is back!" as if the nation had been usurped and held captive by illegitimate barbarians for the preceding decade.

I find an interesting parallel between the Liberal lionization of Pierre Trudeau and French celebration of Napoleon. Napoleon is a French hero, initiating many important changes in French society and bringing glory (for a time) to the French nation. Napoleon's reputation outside of France is decidedly rather mixed, with many other nations seeing him more as an authoritarian warlord who brought ruin and suffering to Europe for 20 years. Pierre Trudeau is a hero to the Liberal party, who never forgot the thrill of Trudeaumania in 1968 and celebrate what they see as major accomplishments on the world stage, social programs, and Canadian jurisprudence. Outside of the Liberal party, Trudeau is seen as talented but tremendously arrogant, bringing in some major changes that continue to lead to problems and controversy today.

Even more interesting, both Napoleon and Trudeau have sequels in the regime of Napoleon III and the government of Justin Trudeau. Napoleon III inspired Karl Marx to observe "history repeats itself, first as tragedy then as farce." Napoleon III restored the forms and appearance of imperial France, but created a ramshackle state that failed to address internal problems and collapsed after a rapid defeat in the 1871 Franco-Prussian war. I think the Justin Trudeau government follows a similar course: another round of Trudeaumania in 2015 swept the Liberals to power, but since then the government has been a case of style over substance. Exquisite, agonizing attention to communications but no real accomplishments in terms of policy or programs. Hopefully this government doesn't end with the citizens of Ottawa being forced to eat the animals in the Ottawa zoo.

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