Thoughts on SNC-Lavalin Scandal and The Fate of the Liberals

The SNC-Lavalin Scandal events, as they unfolded, carry a strong under-current of corruption. Perhaps Justin Trudeau had good intentions – but, as always, good intentions are not enough. A deep understanding and a strong will to do the right thing, are key to good or strong leadership. He has exhibited none of that throughout his time in office. Some people think that Trudeau is just a colourful bird-brain figure-head erected by the corrupt-to-the-bone Liberal Party, placed on his exalted perch to project his “Sunny Ways”, mouthing pleasant platitudes, with little or no substance behind them. I tend to agree with that assessment. Accepting that, he may fairly be described as an ingenue, a political light-weight, or a fool. Will the party heavy-weights dethrone him and replace him before the up-coming election? For them, there is a huge political risk in doing that. Would they choose JWR to replace him because she appears to have some integrity and strength of character?

Another comment by a friend:

Trudeau is looking very bad on this one, but Jody W-R is not innocent either. If she were completely ethical she would have resigned at the moment the political pressure on her to give SNCL a deal became unrelenting. She certainly would have resigned when she was demoted in cabinet stating publicly her reasons for doing so. Instead, she held off speaking publicly while someone fed sympathetic stories to the Globe and Mail. Each time Trudeau erected a self-serving defense, a new “speculative” story would appear demolishing that defense. Then, she made an unprecedented request to speak to the cabinet from which she had, at this time, resigned. Mysteriously, an unofficial account of that meeting that was sympathetic to J-R appeared in the next Globe and Mail. Now she announces she will continue to run for the Liberals. In the meantime, she has placed Trudeau in an untenable position. If he kicks her out of caucus, he further sinks his ship. If she remains in caucus she becomes a center of power independent from the PM. Yup, she is going for prime minister. Machiavelli could have learned something from her.