WILL TRUDEAU’S NEW BEARD MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

WILL TRUDEAU’S NEW BEARD MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

A recent caption on a news article read, “Justin Trudeau and the politics of facial hair.” Of course, as you have probably already guessed, my first question was, “What is the relationship between facial hair and politics?” Like myself, most people will surmise there is no relationship with beards and moustaches, and politics so I thought that I should launch my own personal investigation.

I began with my own story of facial hair. I was never blessed with abundant or attractive hair on my head or my face. In both regards, my hair genes provided me with thin, light brown, rather ordinary hair. On the July 1st weekend of 1973, I went on a men’s fishing trip with my brother, son, and nephew into the wilds of western Alberta. After I returned home, I decided that I would not shave for a while. Forty-six years later, I still have not shaved off my now thin, grey beard and have no intention of doing so.

I can confirm that my decision to grow (or try to grow) a beard had no political significance. The primary benefit to me was to allow me to only have to shave my neck hair every three or four days instead of my whole face every day. At about three minutes for a total shave, I have calculated that I have saved some 33 DAYS by not shaving and growing a beard. I couldn’t believe that I could save over a month of time by not shaving! What a bonus!

Apparently, however, politicians lead a much more glamorous life than I, so they routinely meet with image consultants to try to enhance their public persona. One such consultant commented on Trudeau’s new post-Christmas beard as, "There is a certain level of maturity that he's projecting with this beard, there's no doubt about it.” Let us just pray that her observation is correct. She also noted "He doesn't look so young with the beard. He certainly does look more of a seasoned statesman.” I don’t recall a lot of people making those same statesman remarks about me after I grew my beard. Perhaps they didn’t want to state the obvious!

I am not sure that facial hair is any criteria for a more successful political career. Two recent NDP leaders, Tomas Mulcair and Jagmeet Singh, were both bearded and unsuccessful in their race to the top. The last Canadian PM with facial hair (a moustache) was Robert Borden over 100 years ago. So I’m not sure I can see any politico-moustachio relationship yet.

On the world stage, there are a few examples of current fuzzy faced politicians. India's Prime Minister Modi is known for his distinctive white beard, and the country's media took note when 18 of his 58 ministers inaugurated into his new Cabinet last summer had beards. In the UK, when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister, her dislike of facial hair led to accusations of "pogonophobia" - defined as an extreme dislike of beards. But more recently, the outgoing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was the first bearded man to head a British political party since 1908.

In some parts of the world, facial hair can signify a lot more than personal style. In many parts of the Middle East, political leaders with beards have been viewed as a symbol of Islamist hardliners.
In the US, beards have been perceived as a political turn-off for voters for decades and the refuge of the defeated candidate.

So the big question of the day is, “Will Trudeau’s beard be a hit or a miss?”  Only time will tell!