COUNTING THE DAYS OF THE LOCKDOWN BY THE LENGTH OF TRUDEAU’S HAIR
TORONTO» It’s moppish. It’s unruly. It’s mesmerizing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s hair has long been a subject of fascination, ridicule and adulation in Canada. But three months into the coronavirus pandemic, as he has appeared day after day at televised briefings to answer questions — and sweep the bangs off his face — commentary on Trudeau’s mane has become a national sport.
Was it the pandemic version of a hockey playoff beard? Was he embodying the inner haggardness of the nation, stuck at home for months?
Letters to the editor have been written and newspaper columns crafted. Videos of his hair flip — and the beard he started before the virus struck — have been set to various styles of music and uploaded to YouTube. One has garnered more than 265,000 views.
Trudeau is the country’s prime minister, and he is following the rules and not getting a haircut like much of his unkempt nation, with residents of Ontario, the most populous province, and Montreal barred from visiting barber shops and salons since March.
Still, Trudeau is a master of image branding, and most people believe there is a political point.
“One thing he understands very well is the importance of symbolism in a leader,” said Peter Donolo, director of communications for a former Liberal prime minister,
Jean Chrétien, and now vice chairman of a public relations and lobbying firm.
“Also, it helps that he looks like a million dollars with his hair long,” he added.
Canadians demand that their leaders be proletarian — no perks, no special treatment, no favors. When it was discovered that another prime minister, Stephen Harper, paid a stylist to do his makeup and hair, the country roared in mockery and anger.
Case in point: Trudeau does his briefings before his relatively modest red brick home, which is not the official residence of the prime minister. That grows more dilapidated by the week because he is not willing to spend the tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to fix it up.
“Can you imagine the negative media coverage that would arise if he was getting special access to someone to give him a haircut while we can’t?” asked Alex Marland, a professor of political science at Memorial University.