Still Lyin' Brian

From elder statesman to a bad penny:

One of Justin Trudeau’s fans is a former prime minister who’s known him for most of his life, but usually sits on the other side of the political divide: Brian Mulroney.

During an interview with CTV’s Power Play on Monday, in which Mulroney spoke about the death of former British prime minister and fellow conservative Margaret Thatcher, he also took time to praise Trudeau.

“I’ve known Justin since he was a child. He’s young, articulate, attractive – a flawlessly bilingual young man. What’s not to like with this picture?” he said.

Well, he's an airhead. He hasn't the slightest understanding of public policy. The lad's resume is so thin it could be used to varnish nails. Justin's brief public career shows repeated examples of a clear lack of judgement. Let's not forget his slagging of Albertans and musing about how he might support Quebec separatism, should he be unable to dethrone the Harper regime. This spells out, to most dispassionate observers, a mediocre dilettante elevated to the national stage by a famous last name and histrionic speaking style.

Yet Brian Mulroney doesn't see a problem with any of this.

This might seem a bit shocking but let's remember the source. This is the same man who grossly over estimated the loyalty of Lucien Bouchard and completely underestimated the cunning of Jean Chretien. Two majority governments or not, the Brian's reading of people has had certain blindspots over the years. Some of those blindspots may have nearly destroyed the country. But hey, let's not be too harsh. Ronald Reagan liked Brian Mulroney so he can't be all bad.

So what explains the Brian's sudden love for Justin? There are three basic theories floating around at the moment. Theory A says that the former Tory leader is so desperate for airtime he's willing to say anything to get noticed. Including praising an obvious incompetent. Theory B holds that this is revenge against the Harperites for having snubbed him. Never mind that he was being snubbed for his rather sordid relationship to a certain German businessman. Then there is Theory C which argues that this is all part of a cunning plan. Behind the scenes Brian and Stephen are plotting to finish off the Liberal Party forever by helping to engineer the election of Justin Trudeau as leader.

Having observed the Brian for about a quarter of a century I'd have to say Theory B is the most plausible. There's something about petty revenge that fits the man so well. That said he is pretty vain and always loved the cameras, so Theory A cannot be completely ruled out.

Or perhaps he's finally lost it. In any case Brian Mulroney has given conservatives one less reason to take him seriously anymore.

 

Comments

[Rosseuage.wordpress.com]

I stopped taking Brian seriously not long after I voted for him in 1984. It didn't take two elections to see through him.