The limits of patience in politics

Among the practices I’m working on is patience. I imagine it’s challenging to develop patience at the best of times and particularly hard when society is on an obvious path to climate collapse and mass disabling and fascism and the people in charge seem determined to keep on chugging down that track.

It’s not a secret that I’ve found Justin Trudeau disappointing. Seeing him fail to live up to his inspiring promises as Canada got obviously worse was among the factors contributing to my professional burnout; seeing him pitch nothing but “I’m better than populists” as he tanks in the polls has cemented my cynicism. Sure, the vulnerable will die slower under your continued reign, what a great deal. Even people whose livelihoods depend on him have had enough of his failure to live up to his own human rights rhetoric. I’d bet money it contributed to the collapse of his marriage to a compassionate idealist.

I can’t help hoping we’ll get to experience the same excitement as Americans, of the disappointing white guy admitting it’s time to step aside for the good of the country, in favour of someone who might actually challenge a very bad status quo. I don’t know who that someone would be, though, who is likely to inspire the same excitement as Kamala Harris and the Coach. Trudeau maneuvered the women who actually speak truth to power out of politics. Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney obviously aren’t going to shake things up.

Scrolling through the Cabinet list, the most enthusiasm I can muster is “might be interesting” or “might not be awful.” Anita Anand seems like she has the clarity but keeps getting sucked into Liberal complacency. Watching François-Philippe Champagne engage with people is always fun. I’d support the redemption arc where Steven Guilbeault starts setting fire to shitty government policies rather than the planet. Mélanie Joly has been surprisingly strong and I’d love to see her publicly challenge her disappointing old friend. The chaos goblin in me also thinks Pablo Rodriguez could be entertaining.

Apparently there’s a Cabinet retreat next week, and there is private grumbling. TBD if Trudeau will take the hint that he’s wasted his lustre, and TBD if any of the more interesting private grumblers will become public. I suspect I can be relatively patient until November, when in an ideal world Kamala Harris wins and Liberals en masse learn the right lesson.

Canada needs a Prime Minister who will overcome Justin Trudeau’s ineffectuality, not someone who will perpetuate it. Continued patience is not the right choice for this time in this world.