Justin and Friends

You wake up one morning and there's a phone call. The son of your old and much beloved former boss is trying to get a big and important job. The kids is pretty keen, though not very experienced. Deep down you've always thought he was a bit too soft and a bit too daft. Still, friends are friends and you've known this kid since he was in diapers. So against your better judgement you decide to provide a strong reference. You're getting near the end of the road so it's not like you're risking very much anyway. Heck. What could go wrong?

I suspect that kind of scenario, or something similar, played out to produce this little gem:

Justin Trudeau has been criticized for his lack of concrete ideas, but former prime minister Jean Chretien said he thinks the Liberal leadership front-runner has "a very big policy" that is fundamental to Canada.

"He wants to replace the Tories," Chretien said during an interview on the Global News program The West Block with Tom Clark.

And for Chretien, that is enough.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement. If you listen closely you can almost hear Papa Jean whisper: Well Tom, if it wasn't for Pierre I'd probably be back practicing law in Shawinigan. This is kind of payback.

It's not that our former PM isn't fond of little Justin. Sure he is. Heck, I'm fond of Justin. That pretty head of his generates more blog posts per gaffe than any politician in Canada. Even Lizzy May. But liking someone isn't the same thing as believing they'd make a good leader of the country. Or even an effective opposition leader. The lad is grossly unqualified to lead a game of touch football. When forced to finally provide a reference Jean Chretien, the cunning master strategists comes up with: He's better than the guy they've got now.

Write that in an actual reference letter and it, along with the application, will get shredded.

Another motivation for this sudden burst of Justin-love on the part of Papa Jean is unite the Left. Since the Liberal's epic drubbing in May of 2011 the Little Guy from Shawinigan has been making noises about joining up with the Dippers. This would imply a lack of confidence from the former leader in the future of the party. Coming around and saying what a great job Justin would do helps confirm his faith in the future of the party. That is until Thomas Mulcair stops being so prickly about negotiating a merger.

Should Justin complete the destruction of the Liberal Party, we can expect the sly old bastard to be talking again to some other aged Press Gallery hack, arguing again that it's time to Unite the Left. At that point it would likely mean absorbing a rump caucus into a government in waiting. He would naturally play the role of elder statesmen, much like Brian Mulroney did in uniting the Right. The point of politics for a career politician is power. Whatever Jean Chretien says, he misses it.