Friday, February 1, 2019

LIBERALS DISCOVER THE LIMITS OF SYMBOLISM

   In the midst of the mess brought on by John McCallum’s evident inability to pass up an interview, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer made a remark that could stand as a key theme in this year’s election.
   “This is, I think, part of a bigger problem,” he observed. “And that is Justin Trudeau’s approach to diplomacy, where he thought he could conduct image-over-substance foreign affairs. And now Canadians are paying for his mistakes.”
  Image over substance has come to define the Trudeau Liberals’ approach to government. It contributed substantially to their 2015 victory, when voters keen on a change after nine years of dour Conservatism chose “sunny ways” over the unsmiling rigour of Stephen Harper. It turned him into a global celebrity when a wave of selfies and carefully staged photo ops led to an outpouring of swooning headlines.

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