TORONTO – I do not engage in the habit of heaping scorn on people who no longer are part of our lives, no matter how strong the temptation might be for some. Two issues regarding “the announcement to vacate the leadership of the Party and the Government nonetheless attract some legitimate reflection. 

First of all, it is remarkable that experienced political observers and pollsters, when asked what Trudeau’s legacy would be, had to pause before they came up with these gems: (a) the successful management of the first Trump Presidency, (b) guiding Canada through the global epidemic and (c) keeping Canada committed to a policy of combatting climate change.

They must have not read the editorials published, as recently as Monday morning, by Postmedia writers and distributed via Postmedia newspapers. They are brutal and unforgiving.

Secondly, after two months of protestations by Trudeau and his supporters that He is indeed the best candidate to advance Canada’s interests and agenda on the national and global stage. The leader himself conceded that such programs and/or proposals may in fact be better promoted by someone else. Moreover, he is sacrificing his own personal agenda for the greater glory interest of Canada. Hmmmm.

Thirdly, he devoted an inordinate amount of time to the “threat” that Pierre Polievre poses for Canada, and that he, Trudeau, is a gentleman for declining to say negative things regarding former Deputy Prime Minister Chrytia Freeland.

One is tempted to suggest that he might be saving a summary of his achievements for sharing at another time when feelings might not be so raw. Let us keep in mind he has been in power since 2015. In the first four years of his three mandates, he enjoyed complete authority and an unencumbered majority government. No tyrant in the world could hope for greater legitimacy.

The big international challenge of his second mandate was the international Covid epidemic, when the world went from “concern” to panic, to paranoia, to hyperbole and finally to indifference. The real initiatives came from outside our borders. As for climate change, after the self-congratulatory backslapping by the ideologues, the forest fires in Canada, and primarily in western Canada spewed more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere than climate change policies could hope to mitigate.

Finally, what is the goal of affirming that Pierre Polievre is now the only alternative for everyone watching the announcement underscoring your departure?