This week, Ottawa-based media were in a frenzy over the prospect of a Justin Trudeau Liberal leadership bid. It was a revelation that really wasn’t one. But it portends a return of the CRG assassins, and soon.
Stephen Harper, as some of his former aides have publicly acknowledged, has long been obsessed with destroying the Liberal Party of Canada. He wants to grind the once-great party’s bones into dust, and cast it to the winds. As such, Harper sees the Grits continued existence as unfinished business.
That’s not all. Many Conservatives are wary about the prospect of a rejuvenated Liberal party. Justin Trudeau (who possesses charisma, charm, fisticuffs and a storied political name) and Marc Garneau (who possesses the best CV on the Hill, military honours, and was a national hero when he became the first Canadian in space) are a real and present danger to Conservative hegemony.
With discipline and drive, either likely leadership contender could wrest Official Opposition status away from Mulcair — and power, four years after that, from Harper. That is why it is in the collective interest of both the Conservatives and the New Democrats to commence muddying Trudeau and Garneau’s reputations and records. Much is on the line.
In the coming months, then, you will be told — over and over — that Justin Trudeau is a lightweight (he isn’t), that he lacks maturity to be a national leader (he doesn’t), that he is all sizzle, and no steak (the jury’s still out on that one).
If Garneau takes the plunge — and many Liberals pray that he does — the Con and Dipper opposition research apparatchiks will have a far tougher time mining for dirt. Garneau is not merely a fine Parliamentarian — he is one of the finest Canadians of his generation.
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