Trudeau talks dynastic politics

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], Feb 19 (ANI): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said that a person's political lineage is not a guarantee of success, contending that citizens can infer whether one's approach is genuine or an attempt to live up to lofty familial expectation.

Given that he is the son of former prime minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, the Canadian PM was asked his thoughts on dynastic politics at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.

Trudeau admitted to having a "certain level of advantage" as "people had seen the values (he) was raised with in deciding whether to vote for (him) or not."

"Citizens are not fools. Citizens can tell whether someone is genuine in their approach or just trying to live up to some lofty familial expectation. For me, all my life I focused on how I could best make a difference. I decided early on much to my father's pleasure that I wouldn't go anywhere near politics, because for one thing, I knew more than anyone else what kind of a difficult impact it has on one's kids, so it wasn't an automatic choice for me," he added.

In support of his argument, Trudeau added that before every example of a successful scion of a famous or successful politician, "there are a whole lot of others who are not successful."

The Canadian Prime Minister also stressed that his decision to venture into politics was genuine and not linked to his father, and added that his political lineage drew as much scepticism as it helped him.

The question comes with heavy undertones for India as the newly elected President of opposition Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi has been a subject of much debate and criticism owing to his political lineage.

Trudeau, along with his family, is on a week-long visit to India.

The visit is an opportunity for Trudeau to connect with the Indian leaders in government and business, promote empowerment of women and girls, and strengthen Canada and India's close economic ties. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI