Leadership is exercised in various ways, depending on the circumstances.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, was the first among the ministers to clearly and bluntly demand the resignation of Mr. Anthony Rota, Speaker of the House of Commons.
This is an example of leadership.
This is what Prime Minister Trudeau should have done, in private, this weekend, Mr. Rota having neither the judgment nor the dignity to do it himself.
Mélanie Joly, through her functions, is particularly affected by the monumental blunder, of international caliber, of Mr. Rota. But throughout her political career, Mélanie Joly demonstrated extraordinary judgment and political acumen.
At the time when she was Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, she took, without flinching, all the criticism and mockery that political columnists gave her, while Justin Trudeau had sent her to the front to defend a tax policy indefensible in place of Bill Morneau, then Minister of Finance.
I don’t know what future the next elections have in store for the PLQ, but I have no doubt that Mélanie Joly has a bright future ahead of her, including possibly at the head of the PLQ, and that’s good.
To watch on video