Thursday, October 30, 2003

THE LAST OF TRUDEAU'S MEN

I currently have this picture on the desk-top of my computer at home. Looking at it and considering that Prime Minister Chretien is very near retirement makes me realize that the Liberal Party and the Commons are about to see a major changing of the guard.

Chretien is one of the last, and to be fair the most significant, of the Trudeau Liberals. There is only one other member, the Hon. Charles Caccia, who was first elected to the Commons with Trudeau in 1968 but he obviously does not have the stature of Chretien. Chretien served in the ministries of Prime Ministers Pearson, Turner and Trudeau (the guys in the picture). He himself has been Prime Minister for ten years, during which time he has shaped much of the Liberal Party and senior cabinet members.

With the ascension of Paul Martin as prime minister an entirely different corps of the Liberal party will be in power. None of Chretiens cabinet members are likely to remain in cabinet. The likes of Rock, Manley, Cuchon and Copps are finished. Ministers such as McLellan and Goodale, who may remain, are firmly Martinites.

Martin is not a part of the Trudeau/Chretien tradition and is going to try and distance his government as much as possible from that of the current prime minster. With Martin as prime minister we are going to see a significant overturn, not just in ministers and PMO staff but also in the ideas that shape their policies. It remains to be seen whether the nation will be served well by a total transfusion of new blood or if Martin will abandon traditions Candians have grown used to since the mid-1960s.

Posted by Matthew @ 11:14 p.m.