If you want to know what kind of finance minister Chrystia Freeland will be, Tim Harper suggests that you take a look at her book, Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else:
Chrystia Freeland’s deep dive into the workings of the richest of the rich was a noteworthy work by a globe-trotting financial journalist. It avoided beating the super-elite over the head with a Pierre Poilievre-style club, but picked apart the dangers for society as a whole as the super rich pull further away from the rest of us.
In the “Plutocrat” era of a decade ago, Freeland spoke of recovery from the 2008 collapse as a recovery of the one per cent. She spoke of the need for a new deal to guard against the stalling of social mobility, in which the space between the rungs at the top and the bottom get bigger and it becomes harder for the rest of us to climb.
Twelve years removed from that crisis, Freeland assumes the government’s top portfolio amidst a recession driven by a global pandemic, and the “Plutocrat” challenges are more acute. Trudeau spoke of a recovery that includes women, youth, racialized and Indigenous Canadians who have been hurt most, but he also spoke of the pandemic as an opportunity to be bold. He spoke of giving everyone a chance, not just the one per cent.
It's clear that Trudeau intends to move his government to the left -- and he's daring the opposition parties to take him down. He has prorogued parliament and some will say he's showing ethical cowardice. That will be the criticism from the Conservatives and the Bloc. But Andrew Scheer continues to sound like a high school student who is miffed because he lost a student council election. And Yves-Francois Blanchet keeps sounding like a grumpy grandfather on his front porch.
Trudeau says he's doing a reset -- and he intends to make the NDP and Green Party players. His plans could all come crashing down with a non-confidence vote. And a national election during a pandemic would be a whole new ballgame.
On the other hand, it just might work.
Image: St Catherines Standard
12 comments:
I suspect that Freeland will be a good Finance Minister - especially when compared to Morneau. He really wasn't very good at it. She doesn't have the Bay Street connections that Morneau has? Good. Morneau was too easily swayed by their lobbying.
UU
Morneau gave Trudeau credibility on Bay Street, UU. Trudeau needs more than that now. He needs credibility across the country.
"It's clear that Trudeau intends to move his government to the left" - I'll believe it when I see it, Owen. We've had plenty of promised reforms go up in smoke already - FPTP elections, follow the science on climate change, better indigenous relations, and so on. It'll take more than a new Fin Min to stiffen Justin's spine.
Cap
Your skepticism is understandable, Cap. Withholding judgment is always wise. However, the world has changed. Perhaps Justin sees that -- at least part of it. And, politician that he is, he intends to capitalize on that change.
Morneau may have had cred on Bay St, although I think he's regarded as a walkover, but as a politician he demonstrated time and again that he was oblivious to the needs of the common person. He could not understand anything that related to his being criticized for not listing all his assets when assuming office, because he regarded himself as a jolly good fellow who'd never do anything wrong. Or as Monty Python dubbed such goofy nerds a half-century ago, He epitomized an upper class twit without a social clue. He essentially crumbled overnight when a concerted effort was made against him by Conservative pols whose brainpower lies at the opposite end of the scale. Might as well let him out to graze grass in a comfy meadow to gaze at P & Ls while chewing the cud.
Freeland was beyond nasty in her Latin American dealings while propping up overseas Canadian banks and mining interests against leaders voted in by indigenous peoples and thus dubbed "socialists". A snake in the grass to my mind. So I have little time for her as a person. A neoliberal free-trader to the core and a pal of Bill Maher, a person who regards himself as a genius. No doubt well-known in US Democrat circles in the hubbub of BS we've been fed on Ukraine. If Slow Joe Biden makes prez, well, she'll go down well in Washington. Bay St knows her as an ally when it comes to guarding their overseas investment interests. So despite her book's premise, she's establishment to the core. Probably do all right at Finance, because what other cabinet choice was there? A pile of dunces presented themselves for non-selection.
The Canadian political scene has virtually nobody, either federally or provincially, who seems to have much of a clue, in my opinion.
BM
I have a hunch that, in the longer term, Mark Carney may wind up with that portfolio, BM. If there is an election coming, I wouldn't be surprised if Carney ran for Morneau's old seat.
I'm with Cap. This is a time to wait and see.
To me, Freeland exhibits a sort of raw ambition that reminds me of when Kim Campbell left the BC legislature to take Mulroney's Conservatives by storm. She wasn't in Ottawa more than a month or two before I was called by a veteran Ottawa Tory who said the powers that be in the party's hierarchy wanted every bit of controversy, dirt or weakness about her that was to be had. They saw her as an upstart who wasn't willing to put in her time, pay her dues, and threatened those who had served their party for years.
You can do that but you had better have bags full of natural charisma. I think Freeland has the charm of a skinning knife. I could be wrong.
I don't doubt her ambition, Mound. I'm sure the girl from Peace River likes to play on the big stage. But I'm not sure this is a long term gig.
It's a bit off topic but I thought Brian Mulroney set up Kim Campbell to take the fall in the next election which he sensed the PCs would lose. The BC Libs did the same with Christy Clark but she surprised everyone and won the election. So the question becomes, is Chrystia Freeland being set up? I don't think so; she might surprise everyone.
That's a good question, Toby. Trudeau has turned to Freeland before to handle tough situations. That certainly was the case when she renegotiated NAFTA. I suspect this is more of the same.
.. Ms Freeland speaks to Canadians as 5 year olds.. slow enunciation.. malice & aforethought.. Hard working woman, ton o energy.. and in reality an over achiever.. your basic Jane Philpott clone. That people see her as the exalted one is mystifying.. but what the hey ..
I suspect that anyone who makes it into the cabinet is an overachiever, sal. What really matters is what they achieve.
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