We have just spent another full week watching Justin Trudeau resort to every defensive ploy to ward off allegations of Chinese interference in our elections. Strategy aside, we’re curious to know what he really thinks about China at heart.
Believe me, a political leader’s decisions are not just the result of calculations. They are generally shaped by his deep thinking and beliefs.
Unforgettable moment
Back to Thursday, November 7th, 2013. In a lobby in Toronto, Justin Trudeau attends an evening conference with businesswomen.
They paid to listen to a relaxed Justin Trudeau present his vision of Canada.
Justin Trudeau had just taken the reins of the Liberal Party and was beginning to rebuild the party in preparation for the election. Political leaders participate in dozens of these activities, both to raise vital funds and to promote themselves and spread their message.
After doing his usual babble, Justin Trudeau reaches the sympathetic stage where he answers questions from the women present. Nothing special.
Mr. Trudeau is at his best in the kind of closeness he creates in this type of exercise.
Then this lady comes up with an original question. “After Canada, what is the other country that you admire most? »
Which answer!
Justin Trudeau’s answer would go down in history. “I have a certain admiration for China because their dictatorial regime…allows them to transform their economy on the fly…”
Of all the countries in the world, he chooses China! Amazing answer for someone aspiring to govern a democracy. A response that brought him a shiver of criticism.
However, everything indicates to us that it was an honest answer that translated an impression well anchored in his thinking.
His reaction is reflex. In a moment he reveals what spontaneously comes to his mind. We all understand that if he weighed the pros and cons with a team of consultants, he would never have answered that question.
weak spot
How not to think back on that statement ten years later when he became Prime Minister and Chinese interference is the order of the day.
Did the author of the 2013 answer have the right reflexes at all stages? Did he always have a clear idea of the reality of Xi Jinping’s relations with China?
One thing is certain: for Justin Trudeau, China is a field of vulnerability. Because of this, evasive maneuvers and hesitation become even more damaging.
The complaints are piling up. A former President of the Trudeau Foundation is the one appointed by the Prime Minister to report on our election meddling.
Seven years later, the Trudeau Foundation refunds a Chinese billionaire’s dubious donation.
Even at the performance level, nothing calmed Canadians this week.
