Graspingly Unseemly

"Justin's always been golden and I couldn't have been prouder of him last night [on October 19th's election as Canadian prime minister]. The whole family. It's a blessing to me and Justin my goodness."
"It's a tremendous victory for Canadian people."
Margaret Trudeau, former wife of Pierre Elliot Trudeau, mother of Justin Trudeau

Speaker, Celebrity -- Speakers' Spotlight

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From a proud mother's point of view, one more than tinged with egotism on her own part, let alone pointed pride of a son's accomplishment in using his famous name as scion of a former prime minister to advantage in rallying the Canadian public to wax nostalgic and respond to what to some must have seemed like an alluring whisper of royal privilege in ascension, it may well have been a blessing to her son and herself. As for being a 'tremendous victory' for Canada, that is yet to be seen.

There are many Canadians who cringe at the very thought of this man representing them on the world stage, let alone administering the internal affairs of the country in a responsible way. Intimations of the awkward yet oblivious dilettante were obvious before the election and are surfacing post-election. And as far as comportment is concerned, there seems much to be desired, in the ebullient touchy-feely mannerisms of this man who sees nothing awry during the solemn ceremony of remembrance of Canada's military sacrifices during world wars, to indulge in passionate kisses with his comely wife.

This fellow, who now occupies the position of prime minister has an obvious eye to self-aggrandizement, and it is a penchant that appears to have been handed down genetically from mother to son. His academic prowess went so far as to fit him for the position of a drama teacher at a private school in British Columbia. With that far-reaching experience he considered himself fit to sit behind the desk of a prime minister...and enough Canadians agreed with him to elect him to that post.

Previous to achieving the pinnacle of that entitled desire, he hired himself out as a public speaker, although why anyone might want to hear anything the golden-spooned Dauphin might utter, given his proven foot-in-mouth disease is a puzzle. Once elected as a member of Parliament, he continued to take speaking engagements, a fairly tawdry performance for someone paid as a lawmaker full-time, but speaking before charitable and educational organizations for personal profit.

Now it is his mother who stands to profit from speaking engagements as the mother of the current Prime Minister of Canada. She too uses the Trudeau name, despite subsequent marriages, after her awkward and hugely embarrassing-for-Canada behaviour while the-then prime minister's wife. This is a woman who far more recently hired a high-priced lawyer to free her from charges of drunk driving; one law for the ordinary person, another for the well-heeled social elite who inherited wealth from her industrialist father and her former husbands, three in number.

This peculiar attachment to public display for profit appears to run like an unfortunate virus through the family, with another of Ms. Trudeau's sons also registered as a speaker with the very same bureau that promoted First Son and herself as well. In the words of the Speakers' Spotlight listing, praise is heaped upon this woman as a "Celebrated Canadian/Mental Health Advocate". Her claim to a mental health affliction has been useful throughout her life as an excuse for her rather unorthodox behaviour.

The ghastly phrase they use: "From becoming a prime minister's wife at a young age, to the loss of both her son and her former husband, to living with bi-polar disorder, Margaret tirelessly shares her personal stories to remind others of the importance of nurturing the body, mind and spirit", rather gilding the lily, but then -- that's business.