She is the woman who takes the coals out of the fire for Trudeau. He is trusted to succeed.
It all starts in 2013. Chrystia Freeland has been elected to the Parliament of Canada without any political experience. Within a few years she would find herself at the center of power. There was nothing to suggest a political career. Freeland studied abroad. She became a successful journalist in Moscow and New York and wrote a book about the super-rich; Unequal distribution of wealth, regarding the needs of the middle class.
A young Canadian politician was very impressed: Justin Trudeau. He wanted to bring his left-liberal party back to power. And he wanted Freeland’s help. Canadian political scientist Nelson Wiseman said of her: “Freeland had an international reputation in finance and, as a journalist, she was a good catch. This gave Trudeau credibility. He recruited her abroad and practically promised a government post.”
heads of three ministries
In 2015, his party won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections. Freeland became Minister of Commerce. It was first seen in Europe when Canada’s free trade agreement with the European Union was threatened with failure – in Belgium due to resistance from the Walloon Parliament. She was very disappointed, said an exhausted Freeland in Brussels with tears. At least now she could return home to her three children. In the end a compromise was reached. But the real test was yet to come.
Freeland had an international reputation in finance and as a journalist. It gave Trudeau credibility.
In the United States, new President Donald Trump promised that he would end the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). For Canada it was all about the sausage. About three quarters of exports go to the USA. Freeland, now Secretary of State, must negotiate a new deal with Washington. Trudeau and Trump soon publicly parted ways.
But Freeland negotiated behind the scenes for months and brought a new deal back to Ottawa. Trudeau said no minister had a task so difficult to solve in a generation. Since then the Prime Minister has not been able to do without him.
Trudeau is just uttering empty words. (…) Freeland has matter.
He made him the Deputy Prime Minister. When the coronavirus struck, Freeland soon became Treasury Secretary, becoming the first woman in Canada. The mistakes of 2009 should not be repeated, the financial crisis should not arise. This can threaten democracy. Canada will not allow it, Freeland said when it recently presented its budget.
more capable than trudeau
It involves huge expenditure and huge losses. With this, Freeland wants to get the country out of the pandemic. He has long been nicknamed the “Minister of Everything”. Robert Fife, a political journalist for The Globe and Mail newspaper, says she has surpassed Trudeau in terms of competence. “Trudeau is just saying empty words. Freeland can express himself intelligently and competently on political material. There’s substance in it.”
Legend:
Trump (center, front) Trudeau (right) and Freeman during the signing of the successor agreement to the T-MEC, NAFTA, in Buenos Aires on November 30, 2018.
key principle
Trudeau’s image has been damaged by various scandals. So far, he has expressed no dissent. Trudeau’s charisma alone could not keep her up. «He has no charisma. Like Angela Merkel, she is tough but not aggressive. Not a busy woman, but a doer,” Fife says.
Justin Trudeau is still firmly in the saddle. But when she is replaced one day, Chrystia Freeland could have big time. A 52-year-old would be capable enough. Hardly anyone doubts this in Canada.
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