Family business
IF THE LIBERALS HAVE A TRUDEAU, I GUESS THE TORIES NEED A MULRONEY
When di s c ussi ng women in politics, it is of course inappropriate to comment on their looks. To do so would be evidence of cretinism, misogyny, patriarchal privilege and the original sin of evaluating women based on their appearance. None of this applies to male politicians, particularly hunky Canadian prime ministers who appear on the cover of American fan magazines so poorly informed and badly edited that they think RCMP stands for Royal Canadian Mountain Police.
Nonetheless, it has to be said that Caroline Mulroney is an attractive woman, and this is relevant because she’s decided to enter a profession (if you can call it that) in which looks still count. This should come as no surprise given that she’s the daughter of Mila Mulroney, who was, and remains, one of the bestlooking women ever to find herself married to a prime minister. Caroline carries no small resemblance to her mother.
Her value as a candidate goes well beyond her outward appearance. She has a good education, an impressive work record, strong intellectual credentials, and carved out a solid career while simultaneously raising four kids who, based on photos of the happy family on Mulroney’s new official website, look just about perfect. If I were a woman, which I’m not, I imagine I’d think Mulroney’s done a pretty decent job of balancing career with family with credible results.
She also has the benefit of having an extensive grounding in the real world, which, sadly, is an increasing rarity in Canadian politics, which is littered with people who have never been anything but a politician, or aspiring politician, yet think they know more about everything than the unhappy wage- earners who have to bear the brunt of their ill- informed decisions and calamitous policies. Men and women who have never had to earn a paycheque outside the realm of guaranteed, indexed pension plans and annual cost of living bumps have no idea what it is to wake up each day knowing you could be fired — not at the next election, but right now. Mulroney has also been busy in philanthropy, cofounding the Shoebox Project for Shelters, which distributes gifts to homeless women or those facing homelessness.
So fine, as a candidate she looks promising, with a good mix of personal attractiveness, a good family life and a compelling resume, and it’s to the credit of Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown to have recruited her. If he wants to win next year’s election Brown has to do more than just not be Kathleen Wynne — maybe not much more, but a bit anyway — and being able to boast a stable of good candidates obviously helps. But let’s not get too excited just yet. This is politics, and Brian Mulroney is as skilled as they come. Assuming he had some input into his daughter’s thinking, it makes considerable sense for her to get her feet wet in Ontario provincial politics before potentially jumping to The Show in Ottawa.
Ontario’s Liberal government is beyond tired. It has very little firm support. It should have been ousted long ago, and likely would have if not for the men the PCs chose to lead them. We won’t get into the sorry details, but suffice to say the Tories have blown three successive elections they could easily have won. Patrick Brown hasn’t had his chance yet, but there are many people who yearn to see the back of Kathleen Wynne but fear he too may prove i ncapable of what should be an easy victory. Wynne is widely disliked. Her policies are unpopular. Her record is dismal.
Should Brown succeed, it’s not unreasonable to expect that a smart young woman like Caroline Mulroney could find herself in his cabinet. Ontario cabinet jobs are not bad places from which to jump to federal politics. If Brown should fail, he will be quickly ousted, and it’s similarly reasonable to expect an accomplished young woman with a famous name and strong career credentials might possibly consider a run at the job. We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, but Mulroney has far more pertinent experience than did Justin Trudeau, the former drama teacher and snowboard instructor, when he decided he was qualified to be prime minister.
The unfortunate element to this tale is that it adds to the discouraging health of celebrity politics. Caroline Mulroney would be just as capable if her name were Smith, but media editors and tweeters wouldn’t be nearly as interested. She will get more than her share of attention because of her family. She could win or lose votes based on lingering memories of her father, just as Trudeau did, rather than on her actual qualifications. Even if she proves to be a poor campaigner, she could succeed anyway on the novelty factor. Some may even form an opinion based on having seen her brother Ben on TV.
People who dislike Trudeau may feel it’s fair enough that the Tories should have their own prime ministerial offspring to bandy about, but dynastic politics is just an offshoot of celebrity politics as a way of picking people for high office, and no more worthwhile. Donald Trump has no qualifications to serve as president of the U. S. ( as he’s made abundantly evident) but got the job because millions of voters saw him on his reality TV show and figured that was good enough. Millions of Americans also intensely disliked his opponent, who hoped to continue a family dynasty that began with her husband and could yet include her daughter. Trump versus Clinton may yet go down as the single worst choice ever offered the American public. There were better people available, but they couldn’t compete against the celebrity businessman and the national matriarch. Having lost the election, Democrats are even now mulling which glittering option they could offer up in 2020 — Oprah Winfrey? There are already polls being run on her chances.
Canadians s houldn’ t be eager to follow the U. S. down this path. As Trump has shown, it leads to the swamp. If Caroline Mulroney succeeds, we should hope its because of sound judgment and strong ethics. Not because she’s good at selfies and magazine covers.