FACE TO FACE: Would Justin Trudeau make a good Liberal leader - or PM?
Full disclosure before I start this week's column: I am extremely jealous of Justin Trudeau's hair. As a follically challenged gentleman in my 30s, I'm seriously in awe of his wavy and abundant locks.
Now, on with the column.
Don't worry, I'm not going to partake in gutter politics. I'm not going to call him 'Justhair' or 'the Biebs,' as others have.
But you'll have to excuse me for not jumping on the Trudeau-mania bandwagon.
I'm shocked when I see polls, like the Forum poll that came out last week, that claimed a Trudeau-led federal Liberal party could win a strong minority after the next general election. I don't get the media infatuation with him, chronicling his every move. And I'm utterly perplexed by the large crowds he attracts while on the hustings.
I don't want to believe that Canadians are drawn to him because of his boyish good looks or just because we pine for the "good old days" with his father, Pierre.
But I don't know what else it could be. What am I missing?
He's not a stupid man, by any means, and he does have charisma and the potential to appeal to young people - that's a good thing. I just don't think he's prime minister material, at least not yet.
We've seen numerous examples of his greenness: earlier this year, he told a Quebec radio station that, if Canada was really Stephen Harper's Canada, he might consider helping Quebec become an independent country. Last week, an interview from two years ago surfaced with Trudeau saying Canada is in trouble because Albertans are in charge. And let's not forget about the time when, in Parliament, he called Canada's environment minister a piece of human excrement.
Is this the man Canadians want as their prime minister?
It's clear the federal Liberals are looking for a saviour, a knight in red armour to lead them back into office. Trudeau may look the part but so did Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff.
It's time the Liberals learned that substance is more important that appearance. It's time they realize there's no political messiah waiting in the wings. He's just a man with a fantastic head of hair.
Andy Radia is a Coquitlam resident and political columnist who writes for Yahoo! Canada News and Vancouver View Magazine. He has been politically active in the Tri-Cities, having been involved with election campaigns at all three levels of government, including running for Coquitlam city council in 2005.
