For a Greek paper: How Canadian Liberals Won Under A New Trudeau

Short 300-word piece written at the request of the prestigious Greek newspaper, To Vima (To BHMA or The Tribune). They particularly wanted to know if the Liberals had won due to some sort of Trudeaumania or to something else. The Oct. 25 article in which extracts are quoted appeared only in this Greek edition. 

With the worst GDP growth record among the G7 since 2011 and in a recession the first six months of 2015, 70% of Canadian electors polled said they wanted to get rid of prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government on October 19.

When you add to this list the trial of a high-profile Conservative senator on ethical charges, the picture of a drowned boy on a Turkish beach who was refused asylum in Canada, the attempt to use identity politics against the niqab for political gain, and anxiety over the downturn in world financial markets, all taking place during the campaign, people wanted change.

Last Monday, Canadians elected a majority, slightly left-of-centre Liberal government under the leadership of Mr Justin Trudeau, son of the former prime minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, a close friend of the late Andreas Papandreou.

Highly photogenic and charismatic, yet considered light on substance ahead of the election, he and his party began the campaign on August 2^nd in third place, well behind the New Democratic Party (social-democrat) and the Conservative Party (neoconservative).

More celebrity status than Trudeaumania his illustrious father generated, the 43-year-old Trudeau surprised everyone with a stellar performance, better strategy, bold tactical moves, and a near flawless execution.

He equalled or won the five leaders debates, and ran a more hopeful Obama-esque campaign. More than anything, he said he would actually try to do something immediately about the state of the economy and the middle class.

The Liberals outflanked the NDP on the left by promising to double infrastructure spending, cut middle-class taxes while raising them for high income earners, improve child care benefits, not purchase F-35, and run modest deficits contrary to his two main rivals.

All eyes are now on whether he can deliver the goods and not just good looks. He begins his term on November 4^th.

Robert M. David teaches at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa. He was a Liberal candidate in 2009 and 2011