It's generally agreed that Justin Trudeau's recent trip to India was an abject failure. An invitation to a convicted would be assassin was the original cause of Trudeau's problems. But his continuing attempts to blame others have only made matters worse. Tim Harper writes:
First, Trudeau fingered the man who is said to have invited him, British Columbia Liberal backbencher Randeep Sarai who took a minor fall Tuesday evening following a meeting with the prime minister.
In resigning as chair of the Liberal Pacific caucus, Sarai said he wanted “to again apologize for my role in recent unfortunate events. Moving forward, I will be exercising better judgment.’’
But that explanation didn't fly:
So the Trudeau government aimed a bit higher.
It trotted out a senior official with the explanation that factions within the Indian government conspired to get Atwal to the events to embarrass a Canadian government thought to be too close to Sikh separatists.
Trudeau would have you believe the official, his security advisor Daniel Jean, is some type of independent truth teller who had to get the information out to Canadians without any involvement of Trudeau’s office.
Monday, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, perhaps the most trusted hand in Trudeau’s cabinet, shot down the conspiracy theory in Trudeau’s absence.
The next day, Trudeau had a different story, saying “When one of our top diplomats and security officials says something to Canadians, it is because they know it to be true.”
He largely maintained that stance Wednesday, repeating his trust and belief in his security officials.
This after a spokesperson for India’s external affairs minister called Trudeau’s claim “baseless and unacceptable’’ and flatly denied that the India government or its security agencies had anything to do with Atwal’s presence or invitation to any of Trudeau’s events.
A simple, "We screwed up" would have caused a backlash. But that backlash would have been replaced by backlash to the budget.
Trudeau keeps pouring gasoline on the fire.
Image: Media Waves Facebook Page
7 comments:
I guess Trudeau's handlers are lounging on the beaches of Maui when he most needs them in Ottawa. I have this feeling that Trudeau isn't growing into this job. Somehow the prime minister gig isn't clicking for him. That impression begins by how hesitant he is in public speaking. It makes him look ill-prepared, uncertain, even unconvinced by his own rhetoric.
He spring boarded to power on a legendary name but without any of the intellectual depth and accomplishments that his father brought to the job half a century earlier. Perhaps it's his Catholic conscience getting the better of him.
Being allowed into the country versus being invited to an official dinner are two separate events that are getting confused in the retelling of this story. Anyway, Prime Minister Modi didn’t seem to mind. Their meeting was the best between Canadian and Indian heads of government in years.
Politics seems to be increasingly dynastic these days, Mound. Caroline Mulroney wants to lead the Ontario PC's. That trend is not encouraging.
Modi was genteel, UU4077. But this whole foul up could have been avoided.
I have to agree with the Mound here, Owen. Increasingly, I get the sense that optics over substance is the prevailing ethos in Trudeau's approach to governance. The fuzziness of the latest budget, a 'gender-based' one, is fine for the touchy-feeling crowd, but for those seeking meat and potatoes, their appetite continues in search of sustenance.
Trudeau has been very good at generating photo-ops, Lorne. But he always leaves the impression that there is less there than meets the eye.
I'd like to publish your comment, Anon. But it needs to be initialled.
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