Justin Trudeau has set up his second-term government like a leader who realizes he just had a narrow escape. He has created rows and rows of defensive barriers between the Prime Minister and political risk.
During his first term, Mr. Trudeau made himself the face of virtually everything his government did. Everything, seemingly, came from the PMO: Mr. Trudeau in front, and behind the scenes, his two senior advisers, Gerald Butts and Katie Telford, orchestrated it all. But that meant every problem, and every mistake, was at the top.
Now, a new operating procedure is taking shape. Ministers will be seen handling files and speaking to issues more, and Mr. Trudeau less. There will be layers of insulation between the Prime Minister and any misstep.
A reading of the mandate letters he issued to his cabinet ministers, made public on Friday, makes it clear that this isn’t a move back to cabinet government, where the PM is supposed to be first among equals.
In Mr. Trudeau’s cabinet, there are ministers and then there are ministers, and some who aren’t really ministers at all.
Chrystia Freeland is the Prime Minister’s prime minister, with responsibility over nearly every file. If that analogy makes Mr. Trudeau the king, then it is worth remembering that there are two reasons why a king needs a prime minister: one is to co-ordinate government, and the other is to take the heat when something goes wrong.
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