A reader writes:
I adore my Canadian wife and two dual-citizen boys (Canadian and American), but I think you were unduly charitable to Canada when you wrote that, unlike the United States, it doesn’t have real political dynasties. The head of the Liberal Party and perhaps soon-to-be Prime Minister is Justin Trudeau.
He’s featured in the above video eulogizing his father, a former PM:
You want a dynasty in Canada? That’s easy. Justin Trudeau, son of the great Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Granted, it’s taken a very long time: The father left politics in 1984, and it was only last year that the son became Liberal Party leader. But Justin was considered dynasty material after a somewhat remarkable eulogy at his father’s funeral in 2000. He held off for a long time because of age and family reasons, but the annihilation of the Liberals at the 2011 elections probably forced his hand.
Another has more on the Canadian dynasty:
The elder Trudeau was one of Canada’s most significant prime ministers. He repatriated Canada’s constitution from Britain, successfully passed a Canadian equivalent to the US Bill of Rights, imposed martial law during separatist terrorist kidnappings in Quebec, and was personally known for “Trudeaumania” – a Beatlemania-like popularity and public presence.
His son Justin and his party have enjoyed approval ratings above the currently governing Conservative party since his selection as party leader, but the Conservatives criticize Justin as an all-style no-substance candidate of inexperience, running on his father’s legacy.
We’ve had a few husband-wife power couples. The late leader of the current opposition party, the NDP, was a man named Jack Layton whose wife Olivia Chow was also a high-ranking NDP member. The latter is about to challenge Rob Ford in Toronto’s mayoral election, where she is the only serious candidate on the political left.
A few years ago we had a high-profile power couple when Magna steel heiress Belinda Stronach was a high-ranking conservative MP and had a very public relationship with another high-ranking conservative MP, Peter Mackay. Their relationship ended in acrimony when Stronach crossed the floor and defected to the Liberal party without telling Mackay first. Ouch.
Stephen Harper, our current prime minister, fired his chief of communications Dmitri Soudas after Soudas intervened in a local riding nomination process to help his partner, sitting MP Eve Adams, who is being redistricted.
Another adds:
The late Jack Layton, leader of the left-leaning New Democratic Party in the last election and the man credited with putting them in the official HMLO spot, was the son of a Tory cabinet minister.
Previous Dish on Layton’s legacy here. Another reader:
Toronto’s train wreck of a mayor, Rob Ford, descends from political stock. His father was a city councilman, as was Rob Ford before becoming mayor. (The mayor’s brother, Doug Ford, is also on the city council.) The Fords fashion themselves as Canada’s right-wing answer to the Kennedys! (Thus far, only in alcohol abuse.)
Oh snap. Another looks to Japan:
The country also has a significant number of dynastic figures. Shinzo Abe, current prime minister, comes from a family of politicians, his father being a former Foreign Minister. Yasuo Fukuda, son of Takeo, both prime ministers (though the son didn’t last long). Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is considered part of what Japan considered their Kennedy family, though his tenure was only nine months.
A German reader:
Germany is relatively dynasty free. Wolfgang Schaeuble’s late brother was a state-level politician. Ursula von der Leyen, currently minister of defence, is the daughter of Ernst Albrecht, former governor of the state of Lower Saxony.
Another:
I’m sure your readers elsewhere in the world – the Gandhi dynasty in India, for example – will provide lots of modern examples of familial consolidation of power.
Another swings back to the US:
You might also want to note the current races for senate and governor in Georgia: Michelle Nunn (daughter of former Senator Sam Nunn) is running for U.S. Senate and Jason Carter (grandson of Jimmy) is running for Governor.
Another makes a distinction:
It does get tiresome hearing you rant about Hillary Clinton as the beneficiary of nepotism, etc. She has been utterly qualified for every position she ever ran for. I may not agree with her much, but she’s no W. Bush. A power couple may be a troubling dynamic, but it is not in any way dynastic. When Chelsea runs for the Senate, then you may start your grumping again.
The Dish 