A new biography of the former prime minister, whom Canadians have long been taught to regard as a great liberal politician, reveals that as a youth and young man, Mr. Trudeau was an anti-Semite, admired fascist dictators such as Hitler and Mussolini, promoted revolution and longed for an independent and Catholic Quebec that would be home only to francophones.
From the hysterically right wing Ottawa Citizen. Read the paper. Have a smoke.
Smarter than Ezra wrote:
Hey, if the Pope can do it, then why not a Prime Minister? We can all change for the better if we want to. If not, then repentence would be meaningless, right?
Posted on 01-Feb-08 at 12:05 am | Permalink
Smarter than Ezra wrote:
Hey, if the current Pope can do it, then why not a dead Prime Minister? We all can change for the better if we choose to. If not, then repentence would be meaningless, right?
Posted on 01-Feb-08 at 12:07 am | Permalink
Greg wrote:
And for all that he was still a better Prime Minister than the thug running the country these days.
Posted on 01-Feb-08 at 6:38 am | Permalink
mahmood wrote:
You know Greg…ahhhh forget it, my toe nails need trimming.
Posted on 01-Feb-08 at 7:11 am | Permalink
dalton wrote:
Trudeau certainly doesn’t reduce very easily to the kind of simple minded cliche that bloggers and journalists prefer to deal with, does he? The War Measures Act wasn’t particularly “liberal”, nor was his dismissal of First Nations during the constitutional conferences.
The links between Catholicism and Fascism in Quebec of the period are fascinating.
Posted on 01-Feb-08 at 7:26 am | Permalink
Shane Edwards wrote:
I am the last guy to want to defend Trudeau (ick. I need to wash my hands just typing that), but I look back at the halcyon day of my teenagehood and I had absolutely wacky ideas… like voting NDP. I grew out of that quickly once I grew up and started working for a living. I somehow don’t think it is fair to judge a politician for his positions when he was young and stupid.
Now, if he held those positions last week, but changed his mind, I might doubt his sincerity.
Posted on 01-Feb-08 at 1:42 pm | Permalink
dalton wrote:
My snarky remark about Catholicism and Fascism in Quebec was partly to tease Marsilio…but on that note, Shane, I think it’s difficult to judge a politician by beliefs he/she held as a youth, and especially in light of the beliefs current in the political environment at the time.
We’d all like to believe that we arrive at our political vision by dint of deep thought, extensive experience, and of course our own innate wisdom. In fact, I think most of us drift through life with inherited and unexamined opinions. For that reason, I actually have MORE respect for the politicians that many dismiss because their views evolved. If your political philosophy doesn’t change with time, you’re simply not paying attention to life.
Posted on 01-Feb-08 at 4:07 pm | Permalink