Trump as an elder statesman, too?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The state funeral of Canada’s 18th prime minister (PM), Brian Mulroney, was probably what all television viewers expected on March 23. Held in the midst of a snowstorm, and lasting about three hours under Roman Catholic rites in Montreal’s Notre Dame Basilica. It was attended by about 1,300 invitees from the glitterati of Canada’s political and business sectors, along with family friends.

There were many finely worded eulogies and speeches praising the man and some of his favourite music was performed. Since Mr Mulroney passed away on February 29 at his residence in Palm Beach, Florida, not far from the mansion of Donald Trump, an online poll showed that 83 per cent of Canadians believe that he did a good job while in office. Yet, when he resigned as PM in 1993, that approval rating stood at only 12 per cent. So many had lost faith in him for having introduced the goods and services tax , along with the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the two failed attempts at constitutional reform. That was all very bad news, when his Conservative party faced the electorate shortly after his resignation and only managed to hold two seats in Ottawa’s parliament, a far cry from the 211 seats his party won out of a possible 282 in the 1984 landslide victory.

The radical change of opinion over the intervening 30 years vividly indicates how time heals all wounds. That point was further emphasised after the funeral, when a tribute to the PM was broadcast coast-to-coast in a radio programme hosted by his son, Ben Mulroney. Two of the guests were former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both of whom had left office under similar dark clouds as Mr Mulroney. The unforgettable ‘Monica moral mendacity’ saga cast such an ominous shadow over Clinton’s time in the White House, and an even darker shadow was cast over George W. Bush’s tenure. His war on Iraq under false allegations of weapons of mass destruction, caused hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians to be killed or maimed, along with several thousands of US forces and their allies; Iraq’s infrastructure was laid waste, while regional turmoil was the order of the day for many years. Yet, both Clinton and Bush appear completely rehabilitated in the eyes of the majority of the media. Presently, the aforementioned Donald Trump is a lightning rod in US politics, and although the outcome of his bid for the White House is still uncertain, if the redemption of these other politicians is anything to go by, in a few years the media may well be viewing Donald Trump as an elder statesman, too.

BERNIE SMITH

Parksville, BC

Canada