FALL FROM GRACE

In The Prince, Stephen Maher explores Justin Trudeau's rise and fall and concludes that the Trudeau magic seems to have run its course. But it may be foolish to write him off

- AJISH P. JOY

When Justin Trudeau took over as the 23rd prime minister of Canada in November 2015, Vogue featured him on its cover as the new young face of Canadian politics. He was the prince charming who could do no wrong. He revived the nearly dormant Liberal Party, once dominated by his father Pierre Trudeau, infused an earnest optimism and a youthful enthusiasm into the staid, monochrome portals of Canadian politics. And he made governance fashionable.

But all that seems in the distant past now. Somewhere along the way, Trudeau lost his mojo. Multiple scandals took the sheen off the Trudeau brand of politics. His personal appeal is in free fall. The economy is flirting with recession, housing and food prices have gone through the roof, inflation remains high and the foreign policy is a mess. A survey found him the worst prime minister in over 50 years.