I have spoken with Justin Trudeau just once, but as I do with everyone I took the effort to probe his meaning, mine his body language (for sincerity, intent and broader awareness) and look through his words down the rabbit hole of his cognition.
Again, it was just once - and just for a couple of minutes - but I was impressed.
There is only one other political leader I have had the pleasure of deconstructing who demonstrates the same facile self-awareness, a comfort with their knife's-edge place in a much bigger social picture and a vision of the puzzle-like nature of the world tomorrow. That's Dalton McGuinty - another man too easily underestimated, but at his opponents' peril.
Both these leaders see the patterns of our times and have a good sense of what themes and emergent opportunities have longevity and which ones don't. They both have a business-like sense of the societal market and have their sights set on growth rather than continuity or ideology. Each of these men understand the fundamentals - vision, discipline, integrity and compassion. Social evolution isn't achieved through shrinking one's world, but by expanding it. This is why they both share, through different wording, the same vision; an idea of Canada that is realized by moving forward, together. Plus, both know how to both take and throw a punch.
McGuinty has made a point of learning from the many experiences his trajectory has carried him through. Trudeau, a young man at 40, has his best days of learning ahead of him.
Dalton McGuinty is a man with patience and will. What he sets his mind to, when he trusts his deeply-informed instincts, he achieves.I don't think it's fair to weigh Justin Trudeau against the legacy of his father. Doing so just underestimates what Trudeau the Younger might accomplish in his own right.
"Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible."
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