The most humiliating moment for an outgoing prime minister in history
To the Expositor:
During the speech of Mark Carney at the Liberal Party of Canada’s March 9 event announcing the results of its so-called race, Carney outright insulted Justin Trudeau within a spitting distance of him, while Trudeau smiled and applauded. Trudeau sat in the front row with his children (so that they can all see his humiliation?), while Carney stood on the podium. At the top of his speech, Carney thanked Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, praising him because he “took courageous and historic decisions” and telling him that “you inspired me over the years. And now to have an opportunity to continue your tradition of fiscal responsibility, social justice and international leadership”. The implication being that Trudeau did not make the couragous decisions regarding fiscal responsibility. Trudeau appears to not clap but everyone else does.
Then Carney oddly acknowledges Trudeau by stating “my time does not permit me to recognize all of your accomplishments” but then highlights Trudeau’s “strength and compassion,” again implying that Trudeau’s compassion makes him weak while Chretien was strong in his fiscal responsibility. He then proceeds to praise Trudeau more concretely, but in French, while the CPAC telecast did not carry a French translation and the CBC’s translator was inaudible. In French, Carney praised Trudeau for lifting children out of poverty, while in English he is simply praised for “compassion” without elaboration. Does compassion mean lying on the floor like a mat so Mark Carney can walk on over it, because that’s what Trudeau has done?
Carney praises Liberal MPs in somewhat of a condescending fashion, calling them the “voices of the community and the conscience of the party,” which means they are irrelevant outside of gaining publicity for their betrayal of Trudeau and dragging the Liberal Party down in the polls as a result of those betrayals in December. Their quest to raise their own sense of power over others by eliminating Trudeau has not translated into their actual importance in the Carney’s new administration, and they will continue to be relegated as beings of “conscience” in distant and irrelevant communities and ridings, no longer tools for Carney to have used when backstabbing Trudeau. As the size of cabinet has shrunk and only a few traitors have been picked up by cabinet (including the coward that led the Maritime Liberal Caucus), the exercise by Liberal MPs should be seen as largely futile.
Carney then proudly states that he is reversing Justin Trudeau’s core policies, while Trudeau smiles and nods like a dolphin: “I am a pragmatist above all. When I see something is not working, I will change it. My government will immediately eliminate the divisive consumer carbon tax on families, farmers and small- and medium-sized businesses. (Trudeau does not clap but everyone else does). And we will stop the height in the capital gains tax (Trudeau smiles and nods). Then “The Incarnate” Mark Carney appears to look down at Trudeau, and smiles an evil laugh of pure joy at having witnessed Trudeau’s humiliation in a manner like a villain from a movie or a play. As Carney twirls the knife of betrayal that is lunged into Trudeau, Carney stares into his eyes, and Trudeau looks back, unable to fight back.
It was perhaps the most humiliating moment for an outgoing Prime Minister in all of Canadian political history.
Robert Nelly
North Bay
