In a scenario so perfect it almost seems scripted, a fellow airplane passenger on a Tuesday night flight handed Justin Trudeau a note asking if Trudeau thought he could “really beat Stephen Harper.”
How to respond? Well, if you’re a mediocre hack riding your father’s coattails to success, you appropriate one of your father’s most arrogant, controversial statements as a feel-good motivator for the base. Obviously, Trudeau knew what to do: he sent back the note with the phrase “just watch me” scrawled across it, and a signature for Michael Kydd’s signature book/eBay account.
But “just watch me” was not some benign statement from (Justin’s father, several-time Prime Minister and actually talented politician) Pierre Trudeau. When Quebec was terrified by the FLQ bombings and kidnappings that took place during 1970’s October Crisis, Pierre took a strong approach to the situation. Declaring martial law, he oversaw the arrest of hundreds of Quebecois citizens, of whom only a negligible number were actually tried or convicted of a crime.
His famous statement came in response to a reporter asking how far Pierre was willing to go to restore order in Quebec. Reusing it as a “Yes we can!” form of motivation is tacky and tasteless at the very least.
More likely it shows the younger Trudeau’s complete lack of understanding of his father’s ambiguous legacy, and how unfit he is to run what used to be considered Canada’s natural governing party.
But it is probably unfair to expect analytical depth from a man whose platform seems to consist largely of having great hair, which, by the way, really isn’t that great; can’t we expect more, Canada?
So remember, vote Trudeau to lead the Liberal Party back to victory! Or something.
image: Twitter/Michael Kydd
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