This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/17/trudeau-son-canada
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Justin Trudeau takes up father's torch for Canada's Liberal party | Justin Trudeau takes up father's torch for Canada's Liberal party |
| (7 days later) | |
| There are few equivalents to the political power and promise associated with membership of the storied Kennedy clan. But in Canada, being the eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau comes close. | There are few equivalents to the political power and promise associated with membership of the storied Kennedy clan. But in Canada, being the eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau comes close. |
| Pierre Trudeau led the country through the years of counterculture, disco and the hottest days of the cold war, with a soft spot for socialist policies and swooning young women who often gathered for kisses and autographs. Under his watch, Canada decriminalised homosexuality, repatriated the constitution, enacted martial law to beat back a separatist terror cell in French-speaking Quebec, and took steps towards building what Trudeau envisioned as a "just society". | Pierre Trudeau led the country through the years of counterculture, disco and the hottest days of the cold war, with a soft spot for socialist policies and swooning young women who often gathered for kisses and autographs. Under his watch, Canada decriminalised homosexuality, repatriated the constitution, enacted martial law to beat back a separatist terror cell in French-speaking Quebec, and took steps towards building what Trudeau envisioned as a "just society". |
| Now, more than a decade after Trudeau's death, his first-born son, Justin, has taken up his father's torch. An MP since 2008, he was elected leader of the Liberal party last weekend with an overwhelming 80% of votes cast. So dominant was the Trudeau campaign that a field made up of a former justice minister, the country's first female air force commander, an astronaut and a constitutional scholar (who happens to be the mother of Pierre Trudeau's child) was reduced to a pack of also-rans. | Now, more than a decade after Trudeau's death, his first-born son, Justin, has taken up his father's torch. An MP since 2008, he was elected leader of the Liberal party last weekend with an overwhelming 80% of votes cast. So dominant was the Trudeau campaign that a field made up of a former justice minister, the country's first female air force commander, an astronaut and a constitutional scholar (who happens to be the mother of Pierre Trudeau's child) was reduced to a pack of also-rans. |
| Now Trudeau, 41, has a task more daunting than living up to his famous name. His challenge leading up to the next federal election in 2015 is to return the once dominant Liberal party to power. It is no easy job given that the Liberals, who made up the government in 2006, are now in greatly diminished third place in the House of Commons. | Now Trudeau, 41, has a task more daunting than living up to his famous name. His challenge leading up to the next federal election in 2015 is to return the once dominant Liberal party to power. It is no easy job given that the Liberals, who made up the government in 2006, are now in greatly diminished third place in the House of Commons. |
| The burden that Trudeau carries has already proved too much for two intellectual heavyweights – the former political scholar and environment minister Stéphane Dion, and the human rights professor Michael Ignatieff, a former BBC presenter. But there are great hopes that the ex-school drama teacher and snowboard instructor, who is married to model-turned-television host Sophie Gregoire and has two young children, can succeed on the draw of his name, the pleasing angles of his face and his record thus far of upsetting expectations. | The burden that Trudeau carries has already proved too much for two intellectual heavyweights – the former political scholar and environment minister Stéphane Dion, and the human rights professor Michael Ignatieff, a former BBC presenter. But there are great hopes that the ex-school drama teacher and snowboard instructor, who is married to model-turned-television host Sophie Gregoire and has two young children, can succeed on the draw of his name, the pleasing angles of his face and his record thus far of upsetting expectations. |
| His leadership campaign provided few hints about how he intends to run a party that has historically tried to be fiscally sound and socially generous – all things to all voters. He has little in the way of policy, steered clear of the most divisive battles and now promises to be the champion of middle-class Canadians, as if that were a novel political approach. As his critics point out, he has not brought forward a single piece of legislation in his time as an MP. | His leadership campaign provided few hints about how he intends to run a party that has historically tried to be fiscally sound and socially generous – all things to all voters. He has little in the way of policy, steered clear of the most divisive battles and now promises to be the champion of middle-class Canadians, as if that were a novel political approach. As his critics point out, he has not brought forward a single piece of legislation in his time as an MP. |
| But his campaign's approach more than two years from the next federal election was deliberate, Trudeau's advisers say. It was also smart, said Nelson Wiseman, a politics professor at the University of Toronto. "He's best off to present himself as a blank canvas or an empty vessel so that people can imagine what they want about him and all they have to go on is this overall feeling and visual image," he said in an interview. "If you put something out there, it gives people an opportunity to attack." | But his campaign's approach more than two years from the next federal election was deliberate, Trudeau's advisers say. It was also smart, said Nelson Wiseman, a politics professor at the University of Toronto. "He's best off to present himself as a blank canvas or an empty vessel so that people can imagine what they want about him and all they have to go on is this overall feeling and visual image," he said in an interview. "If you put something out there, it gives people an opportunity to attack." |
| The ruling Conservative party of the prime minister, Stephen Harper, saw off two previous Liberal party leaders through aggressive TV advertisements that turned their public utterances against them. It took less than 24 hours after Trudeau was named party leader for the government to launch a similar attack on him. | The ruling Conservative party of the prime minister, Stephen Harper, saw off two previous Liberal party leaders through aggressive TV advertisements that turned their public utterances against them. It took less than 24 hours after Trudeau was named party leader for the government to launch a similar attack on him. |
| The spots ridicule the political scion by showing him stripping on stage (at a celebrity auction to raise funds for liver cancer) and sporting the beginnings of a silly-looking Three Musketeers moustache (grown for Movember), while the announcer claims over a background of circus music that Trudeau lacks the judgment and experience necessary to lead the country. | The spots ridicule the political scion by showing him stripping on stage (at a celebrity auction to raise funds for liver cancer) and sporting the beginnings of a silly-looking Three Musketeers moustache (grown for Movember), while the announcer claims over a background of circus music that Trudeau lacks the judgment and experience necessary to lead the country. |
| It is a critique that Trudeau has battled since re-entering the public eye as an adult when he delivered a tearful eulogy for his "Papa". It was the moment that people began to think seriously that perhaps the son held the same promise as the father. | It is a critique that Trudeau has battled since re-entering the public eye as an adult when he delivered a tearful eulogy for his "Papa". It was the moment that people began to think seriously that perhaps the son held the same promise as the father. |
| But the critiques, stereotypes and swift judgments Justin Trudeau faces are nothing new. He has been haunted by second-guessers at every step along his very public path, said Greg MacEachern, a former Liberal party adviser and vice-president of Environics Communications in Ottawa. | But the critiques, stereotypes and swift judgments Justin Trudeau faces are nothing new. He has been haunted by second-guessers at every step along his very public path, said Greg MacEachern, a former Liberal party adviser and vice-president of Environics Communications in Ottawa. |
| "When Justin was born on 25 December 1971 it was national news. The guy, for good and for bad, has been in the public spotlight in Canada pretty much his entire life." | "When Justin was born on 25 December 1971 it was national news. The guy, for good and for bad, has been in the public spotlight in Canada pretty much his entire life." |
| His supporters have been surprised by his string of successes, including waging a tough battle in a working-class neighbourhood of Montreal to win his seat in parliament and crisscrossing the country to cash in on his pedigree and raise millions for his cash-strapped party. | His supporters have been surprised by his string of successes, including waging a tough battle in a working-class neighbourhood of Montreal to win his seat in parliament and crisscrossing the country to cash in on his pedigree and raise millions for his cash-strapped party. |
| He also stunned many political observers by his performance in a charity boxing match against a rival Conservative senator with a martial arts background, a fight that has come to symbolise his parliamentary potential. The expectation ringside was of a bloodbath, but Trudeau used his long left jab and superior conditioning to exhaust his muscled opponent and win a third round technical knockout. | He also stunned many political observers by his performance in a charity boxing match against a rival Conservative senator with a martial arts background, a fight that has come to symbolise his parliamentary potential. The expectation ringside was of a bloodbath, but Trudeau used his long left jab and superior conditioning to exhaust his muscled opponent and win a third round technical knockout. |
| The fight was proof that Trudeau should not be underestimated. But he has yet to prove that he has the heavyweight stature that his father holds in Canada's political legends.MacEachern said he had a moment of empathy for Trudeau just before his leadership victory was announced. The hall was packed with Liberal apparatchiks watching a video montage of past party leaders, including a long segment dedicated to the many achievements of Pierre Trudeau. | The fight was proof that Trudeau should not be underestimated. But he has yet to prove that he has the heavyweight stature that his father holds in Canada's political legends.MacEachern said he had a moment of empathy for Trudeau just before his leadership victory was announced. The hall was packed with Liberal apparatchiks watching a video montage of past party leaders, including a long segment dedicated to the many achievements of Pierre Trudeau. |
| "I believe the word 'icon' is overused, but in this case ... it is some very iconic Canadian history to us," he said. "To [Justin] it must just be his father." | "I believe the word 'icon' is overused, but in this case ... it is some very iconic Canadian history to us," he said. "To [Justin] it must just be his father." |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday. |