KINSELLA: Trudeau in a deep hole after Weekend from Hell

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The Weekend from Hell™️.

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All of us have had one, at one time or another. A fender-bender on the way to an important appointment. A flooded basement. A positive COVID test. Getting dumped by text.

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Justin Trudeau’s Weekend from Hell™️ was different. His wasn’t private. It was right out in the open, observed by millions.

Such are the foibles of leaders of countries, and such are the foibles of Justin Trudeau these days. Try as he might, the Liberal leader can’t seem to catch a break.

As his Weekend from Hell™️ unfolded, it was almost (almost) possible to feel sorry for the guy. Almost.

Trudeau went to India for the G20. Based on the photographic evidence, nobody really wanted to talk to him or shake his hand. He looked miserable. And his plane was grounded there for nearly two days.

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Meanwhile, back home, his main adversary, Pierre Poilievre, was having the best weekend of his political life. Ahead 14 points in the polls. Old rivals lining up behind his leadership. Party united. A multilingual, photogenic spouse charming everyone. And a picture-perfect convention in Quebec City.

And, to top it all off, Trudeau’s rust-bucket plane was wheezing back to Canada, and his timely arrival to a caucus retreat in London, Ont. was in doubt. Late for his own meeting. Ouch.

That’s not all. Over in the Liberal Party house organ, the Toronto Star, columnist Althea Raj was reporting that mutiny is brewing. While none of the quoted Liberal MPs were willing to go on the record, quite a few were prepared to dump on Trudeau anonymously.

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Said one: “We don’t feel that we have a partner in the Prime Minister’s Office that is doing what it needs to be doing to help us at this time.”

Another: “This is a prime minister who never likes to even allow you to finish your sentence in national caucus … [If] you’re going to say something he’s not going to like, he always cuts you off.”

Said two different MPs: “People are really disillusioned.” Another: “Really, really, disillusioned.”

Finally, at least one said it was time for Trudeau to leave: “Do the right thing for himself and for the Liberal Party.” And go.

Like we said: it was Justin Trudeau’s Weekend from Hell™️.

Can he reverse it? Can he become competitive again?

As we all know, a week is a lifetime in politics. Conservatives have a well-documented history of shooting themselves in the foot. Trudeau is an excellent campaigner. And, as my colleague Brian Lilley likes to say, voters are fickle. They change their minds.

But right now, one thing is certain: A stench of death can be detected around Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

And we suspect many more Weekends from Hell™️ are on the calendar.

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