Tuesday, April 05, 2016

Is Justin Trudeau's Political Honeymoon Finally Over?



Oh well, I suppose it couldn't last forever. 

Justin Trudeau couldn't continue to reach new heights of popularity.

Without having to wear an oxygen mask.

So it seems that his long political honeymoon may finally be over.

And that according to this EKOS poll, he's falling gently back to earth.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s hold on the Canadian psyche appears to be returning to more normal levels, an EKOS poll suggests.

EKOS found the percentage of respondents who felt the Liberal government was headed in the right direction had dropped from 68 per cent near the beginning the year to 56 per cent. While the number of people who felt the government is headed in the wrong direction rose from 32 per cent to 44 per cent, it was still outweighed by the number of respondents who felt Trudeau’s government was headed in the right direction.

But then who can be surprised that his popularity would dip slightly, when he was up so high, and the poll was taken after the budget.

When Rona Ambrose and her Con zombies were trying to make the deficit they helped create, sound like a monster...



And so were their stooges in the Con media...



Especially those like Andrew Coyne, who work for Postmedia.

Or old hacks like Emma Teitel, who seems to have been driven crazy by Trudeau's ability to do yoga poses. 

Yes, Justin Trudeau is handsome, and, presumably, a nice guy who stands, as progressives like to say, on “the right side of history” (most recently, he tweeted his support for transgender Canadians and abortion access in P.E.I.). But he is also a Canadian.

And by the fact that so many admire him...



It is hard to fault the content-hungry Canadian press for jumping at every opportunity to exploit the PM’s popularity. Trudeau is to mainstream media what kittens are to memes: click gold. But this trend, which appears to show no sign of letting up, is frankly a little undignified and more than a little tired.

And would like us all to be as grim, and as tired, and as dreadfully boring as she is.

When I for one really enjoy the way the world now seems to admire us and our new prime minister.

In just over four months, the media-friendly, question-taking and selfies-giving Trudeau has managed to seemingly make Canada cool on the world stage, using the increased spotlight to highlight the merits of diplomacy and engagement, including on issues such as climate change, respect for diversity and human rights and international peace.

After the way the last one shamed us...



And if Saturday Night Live finds the yoga pose entertaining...


All the better. Because I'd rather we were seen as cool rather than losers. Like Emma.

Or those old Jabbas in the blogosphere, who as you know are always finding any excuse to attack Justin Trudeau...



Because their lives are so pathetic, they can't stand seeing anyone having a good time after such a long nightmare.

And would drag us all into their misery. 

And the good news?

They're all going to be disappointed, for these numbers are still extraordinary.

The decline in the number of people questioning the direction Trudeau is taking Canada doesn’t seem to have had a big impact on the level of support for his party. If a federal election had been held between March 24 and 29 when the poll was conducted, 42.1 per cent of respondents said they would have voted for the Liberals, 31.7 per cent for the Conservatives, 11.7 per cent for the NDP, 6.4 per cent for the Green Party and 4.8 per cent for the Bloc Québécois.

And with the NDP numbers so low, would almost certainly deliver an even bigger majority than Trudeau presently enjoys.

As for me, I like the way he keeps destroying Stephen Harper's legacy. 

And the way that unlike his zombie critics, he keeps demonstrating his down to earth humanity.



And when you're admired and loved like that, and inspire so many young people.

My guess is that Justin Trudeau is the future.

And that his love affair with the Canadian people is going to last a long long time...

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15 comments:

Kirbycairo said...

Well, as much as he has undermined certain aspects of the Harper decade, I still don't believe that Trudeau is the future. The fact that the Liberal Party's continues to adhere to neoliberal trade deals (which should be referred to as corporate hegemony deals) means that they really haven't embraced the necessary economic ideology to take us into the future. Until we have a party in power that admits that the real problem with modern economies is a distribution problem rather than a revenue problem, and that inequality is not only a threat to people's well-being but to the very system itself, (and of course a party that actually begins to talk about solutions to inequality) then we are still in a holding pattern waiting for the real future to begin.

e.a.f. said...

who the hell has saving these days? the ad isn't going to be a big thing in B.C. What were working class/middle class neighbourhoods last years, this year are going for $1.4 MILLION. with the lowest min. wage in Canada, savings aren't a big thing in B.C.

His hand stand made the Daily Koz, a slightly left of centre paper in the U.S.A.

In all relationships, they wax and wane, but they guy is still so much better than the Cons and they aren't ever going to catch up.

Do wonder if Steve and his herd's names are on the Panama papers list? I don't want to think he sold Canaada out for free on that trade agreement.

some small business is not happy about not getting the tax cuts they wanted. on the other hand their tax bills are pretty low as is.

Anonymous said...

People can say what they want positive or negative, but the fact remains we're barely six months into JT's mandate and passing judgement now is ridiculous, try again in a couple of years. Of course, the ReformaCons and their MSM enablers will try to shit on anything JT does but that's fine as it further makes them look like a sorry bunch of losers grasping at straws.
JD

Steve said...

still love him and no one can clean up the harper mess with out some trash

Anonymous said...

So on the other hand small business tax bills are pretty low........... Small business is becoming extinct due to high taxes. Tittering on the very edge.

We, small business, are also under CONSTANT harassment of CRA, comparable to the Mafia, whilst KPMG, Panama, thieving Senators all get sweat heart deals!!!!

CRA are incapable of fighting those rich tax fraudsters due to lack of investment in actually hiring high profile lawyers to go after them. No experience. So as a result the collectors are only capable of dealing with petty audits that net them as low as two hundred bucks for two to three days work for an auditor. Sometimes they get lucky, sometimes not. Pretty well evens out in the end. Certainly not the quantity of tax they would collect from the off shore criminal tax fraudsters, KPMG fraudsters, and thieving Senators. but the Overburdened taxpayers of Canada will never know due to CRA's lack of providing information as the Liberals promised they would do during the election. We have been waiting for three years to get six months worth of work to provide same.

PM best be getting the goods on these issues real fast or his ratings will deflate even more. I love the guy but he must make these wrongs right, fast and furious.

I can honestly say that I know very few people that can actually "save". AP

e.a.f. said...

to the best of recollection it was Harper and his Cons who "eliminated" the CRA unit which went after the "big offenders", put $14 Million into going after charities and churches who opposed him.

harper gave all businesses tax breaks. just because big business got a pass, doesn't mean small business ought to get a pass.

e.a.f. said...

If J.T. wants to ensure the general public continues to "love" him for a long time, ramp up staffing at CRA and go after those 1%ers who evade taxes and change the loop wholes. Yes, Martin might get a little pissed, but he's not in politics anymore.

Simon said...

hi Kirby...well I admit my crystal ball is a tiny one, so I can't see THAT far into the future. But when I said that Trudeau was the candidate of the future, what I really meant was that he is the candidate of the new generation. In the last election he is believed to have attracted hundreds of thousands of first-time voters. And since the fourteen year old of today will get to vote in the next election he will probably attract even more young voters next time. And although the country is too conservative to start a revolution. What Trudeau is planning to do with the Liberal party has the potential at least to be revolutionary. He's planning to turn it into more of a movement than a traditional party, and that is a first step towards real change...

Simon said...

hi anon...yes te CRA has had its wings clipped by Harper, and directed to go after the small fish rather than the big ones. But the Trudeau government has now changed their orders, and given them almost half a billion dollars to go after the big tax cheats. So don't lose hope yet, it may take time to gear up, but we are heading in the right direction....

Simon said...

hi JD...yes I didn't mention that four months isn't long enough to judge any government. But it is true, and Trudeau deserves more time to show what he can do. I'm going to predict right now, and you can be my witness, Justin is a different kind of leader, and he can still surprise us....

Simon said...

hi e.a.f...the Liberals have given the CRA #444,000 and changed their orders, so there is reason to hope that the tax evaders will finally start to feel the heat, and that we could recover billions from them.

Kirbycairo said...

No doubt much of what you say is true Simon. But the best, smoothest changes often happen in stages. I think of Trudeau as a possible man of transition toward a more serious change. The good things that Trudeau represents have the possibility of opening up civil society in such a way that we can have real, revolutionary change. BTW, Thank you very much for your last personal email. It was much appreciated.

Anonymous said...

Hope you are right Simon, but being in the tax business my days are spent with CRA Auditors combing through small business and finding a few hundred bucks here and there!! Two auditors for three full days to net $187.00 dollars. I wanted to file a Notice of Objection because the auditors did not follow the tax law.... but instead I wrote a cheque and called it F&*k off money!!!!!! Tomorrow two Mafia style Auditors coming to pour through another small business with GROSS income of $60,000. How much avoidance is possible at 60G's???? CRA just do not have the experience to do REAL audits not matter how much money Trudeau throws at them. First he must hire competent people!!!!!!!! Small business certainly DO NOT get a pass. Big business gets the pass!!!!!!!! FS

e.a.f. said...

now that would be nice. it could even take care of the deficit given what some believe to be is hidden.
the documentary on Putin and his crew was re run last evening with some updates. Of course "examining" Putin works, detracts from those doing the same thing in the west. The Panama papers may be spun that way by the MSM, focusing on other countries and not on our own.

Unknown said...

Former dairy farmer who was destroyed by inflationary debt injected into the Canadian farming system. These assholes have totally betrayed the family farmer and are working to put food control back into the hands of kings. Blood is coming if we keep pushing Canadians off their land while maintaining a nothing is wrong everything is rosy political mythology. King to priest to peasant, nothing is different than it ever was. We are not a democracy, we are a corporate dictatorship.