Nothing is going well for Justin Trudeau. The Liberal Party of Canada’s decline in the polls is increasing. But is the game over already? Well in power and enjoying a good two years until the next elections, the fortune tellers are very clever.
Like so many others, a Léger/Le Journal poll published on Tuesday confirms the Liberals’ decline. With 39% support, the Conservative Party of Canada leads the country. A 12 point lead over the Liberals.
It just goes to show that Pierre Poilievre’s physical makeover and his repeated focus on inflation and the housing crisis are paying off.
The observation is undeniable. After eight years in power, the prime minister is fighting to regain control of his government. He seems to drift from crisis to crisis and his reaction time becomes ever slower.
The latest case is the huge turmoil surrounding the ovation that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selynski gave a 98-year-old Canadian-Ukrainian ex-Nazi soldier during an official visit last Friday.
Because the Speaker of the House of Commons who invited him portrayed him as a war hero, no one knew about it.
Extreme slowness
What followed was a surreal round of mistakes. Even the Speaker of the House of Representatives took four days before resigning. The real problem, however, lies in Justin Trudeau’s extremely slow response.
Even though he wasn’t the author of the mistake, it took him until Wednesday to understand the extent of the mess and finally publicly apologize to the whole world.
It was written on behalf of all parliamentarians and not on his own initiative as Canadian Prime Minister, and even his excuses were poorly drafted.
All of this reinforced the impression of a worrying lack of leadership. In the face of a political pit bull like Pierre Poilievre, this is almost too easy a prey for Mr. Trudeau.
In short, beyond the personal ordeal of his breakup, 2023 already marks Justin Trudeau’s annus horribilis. It must be said that this is not his first either. But what happened this time?
Poisoned gift?
One possible answer lies in the agreement he signed with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh in 2022. Despite its minority victory in 2021, it allows the PLC to comfortably remain in power until 2025.
The maneuver was brilliant. A real godsend for liberals. Or was it more of a poisoned chalice?
While the agreement gave Justin Trudeau the luxury of time, it also seemed to have made him more casual, hesitant and clumsy.
In short, he is too sure of the outcome whatever he does. Even convinced of a fourth victory in the next elections.
However, we know he is capable of more. Because the actual underlying problem is significant.
A Pierre Poilievre election victory would give Canadians the most radical right-wing government they will ever see in their lives.
Faced with such a challenge, will Justin Trudeau know how to rediscover his political instincts or not?