Sartorial Irish host socks it to stylish Trudeau
Strong chemistry between PMs as Varadkar sports Canadian-themed hosiery
DUBLIN— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was beaten at his own game by his younger, newly elected Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, in Dublin on Tuesday.
In advance of this first meeting of two of the three fresh faces of western politics, speculation had centred on whether Varadkar, 38, and Trudeau, 45, could re-create the chemistry between Trudeau and the third member of their youthful trinity, 39year-old French President Emmanuel Macron.
Trudeau and Macron hit it off at the Group of 7 summit meeting in May and will be reunited later this week at the Group of 20 summit meeting in Germany.
But Varadkar’s first photo opportunity with Trudeau in Dublin showed that Ireland’s prime minister would not settle for being the spare wheel.
Trudeau has a penchant for quirky hosiery, having previously donned socks honouring Star Wars, NATO and a Muslim holiday.
But a sharp-eyed Irish reporter noticed he wore subdued grey and white striped socks Tuesday. Varadkar bested him with bright red socks, decorated with Canadian Mounties and maple leaves that paid tribute to his visitor.
At a joint news conference, Varadkar brazenly flashed his footwear at the cameras before presenting his guest with a customized Irish rugby shirt and a pair of green Celtic socks. But Trudeau had his own moment to shine. During a demonstration of Ireland’s traditional sport of hurling, he proved remarkably adept at the difficult skill of soloing a sliotar, or bouncing a ball on the end of a flat, narrow hurley stick.
Varadkar, who attended a private school that favoured the somewhat more sedate and genteel sport of field hockey, declined to take up the challenge.
Beyond the pleasantries, the leaders had real business to attend to. They reaffirmed their support for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, between Canada and the European Union, which must be ratified individually by all 28 members of the bloc.
The Canadian-European trade pact has encountered resistance from environmentalists, trade unionists, farmers and others who fear that provisions allowing private companies to sue governments for lost profit will undermine the power of states to enforce regulations.
Both leaders pointed to another common bond their nations shared as the smaller neighbours of global powers Britain and the U.S., which are “taking a different direction from many other countries,” as Trudeau put it.
Varadkar came to the world’s attention last month as Ireland’s openly gay, half-Indian, youngest-ever prime minister, but it was Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, known as Brexit, that moved his country to more global prominence.
On Monday, while Trudeau looked forward to playing geopolitics at the G-20 meeting, Varadkar was scrambling to deal with a looming parliamentary defeat — which would be embarrassing but not fatal to his government — on a private bill about garbage charges.