Please don’t tell my Conservative friends, but I must confess this: if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau doesn’t get re-elected in the fall, it’ll actually make me a little bit sad.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly no fan of the Liberals, it’s just that Trudeau being in power has been really good for my career.
You see, I’m a “professional political pundit” meaning I regularly offer up opinions on Canadian politics in media columns and on radio and TV public affair shows.
And, to set myself apart from the rest of the political punditry pack, I like to spice up my commentary with “lighthearted” observations, often with a bit of a cynical bite. In short, I try to use “satirical humour.”
And, believe me, finding any sort of humour in Canadian politicians can be a difficult task; indeed when a sourpuss, such as former prime minister Stephen Harper is in power, it’s nearly impossible.
But when Trudeau arrived on the political scene, it was like I had suddenly and magically stumbled upon a wonderful world, a world where comedy rained from the skies like manna from heaven.
This is the guy, after all, who hilariously coined the word “peoplekind” and who promised the “budget would balance itself,” and who pledged to “grow the economy from the heart out” and who says he drinks from “drink-box water bottles sort of things.”
It’s like Trudeau is giving me jokes for free.
As a matter of fact, Trudeau’s wacky trip to India, the one where he basically culturally appropriated an entire subcontinent with his endless costume changes, gave me enough material for months of clever witticisms.
Example from my Twitter account: “Sources say Liberal strategists are still undecided as to whether Trudeau will arrive in Peru dressed as a Spanish conquistador or as an Inca emperor.”
What’s more, Trudeau’s saccharine, mawkish, sentimental, approach to politics, with its heavy reliance on endlessly repeated banal platitudes, offers the perfect counterpoint to my own acerbic, jaded and skeptical take on politics.
For me, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel, where the fish are constantly stopping to take selfies.
I’ve also had a great time, over the past four years, mocking those elements in the Canadian media which try to deify Trudeau. I’m talking about those journalists and columnists who incessantly push the idea that Trudeau is the greatest leader in the history of mankind (oops, sorry I meant peoplekind) mainly because he likes to jog half-naked through the woods and sometimes wears Star Wars socks.
But one of the best things about making jokes about Trudeau, is I have so little competition. Yes, people on the right try to ridicule the prime minster, but let’s face it, conservatives, as a rule, aren’t that funny.
Meanwhile people on the left just can’t seem to bring themselves to mock their Great Leader. For instance, the comedians and satirists who work for the CBC seem awfully reluctant to find much hilarity in Trudeau’s antics. (I’m sure this has nothing to do with any sort of partisan, left-wing bias at the public broadcaster.)
At any rate, now you see why I might get misty-eyed if Trudeau loses power.
Mind you, I suppose good governance is a little more important than a steady stream of laughs.
Anyway, if Trudeau loses, I guess I’ll just drown my sorrows by drinking from a drink-box water bottle sort of thing, while wearing Star Wars socks.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
