BEYOND THE HORSE RACE — Working in a global newsroom means having to field the occasional question poking for insight about JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s longevity as leader.
And in a world where 81-year-old U.S. President JOE BIDEN is vying for reelection, part of the American fascination with Trudeau is focused on how a 52-year-old can be losing steam. — Get the list: Eight years in power and an electorate increasingly interested in change is part of the answer. Winning four mandates in a row is also a rare feat. The rise of a rival with the gift of gab and hyperbole — backed by a party with deep pockets — has also affected Trudeau’s career arc. Another factor: Canada is a lot angrier these days. And that reality is testing the bankability of Brand Trudeau’s inherent bubbly optimism. Read POLITICO'S top story this morning: How Trudeau lost his grip. — Fresh blood: When the House returns later this month, focus will be on changes in the Liberals’ communications game under MAX VALIQUETTE, the Prime Minister's Office’s new communications executive director. Liberals already upped their attacks before the holidays, knocking Conservatives for copying “far-right, American-style” messages in Canada, a high-risk high-reward gambit depending on the outcome of the U.S. election. — Old issues: Bad communications has been a barnacle of a problem for Trudeau and his Liberals. Before the House resumed in September, Trudeau, chief of staff KATIE TELFORD and other top-ranking members of current and former Liberal campaign teams travelled to Montreal for the Global Progress Summit to revise their gameplans. To your Playbooker taking notes in the corner, it looked and felt like a family reunion, but one that includes a call to action to protect incumbent progressives in power. Part leftie love-in and part weekend realpolitik power-brokering exercise, the communications bootcamp offered invite-only guests a chance to learn populist tactics to understand where their rivals find their mojo. — Behind closed doors: Summit delegates got a crash course from ARUN CHAUDHARY, the White House’s first videographer under BARACK OBAMA, who pushed the point that economics is “a vibe not particularly a science, it's a brand, an ideology.” At a private evening reception, Trudeau ditched his suit for casual wear and dropped his guard talking among friends. He warned the progressives in the room against “moralizing” or “looking down” at the world because it could fuel populists’ tropes about them being elitist — a sort of kryptonite for campaigns. While there’s a quiet and building consensus that it’s time for Trudeau to go, POLITICO spoke with Liberals who are convinced Trudeau’s idealism and optimism can still appeal widely in the next election, whenever that will be, if they can replicate 2015’s magic. — Old secret sauce: When Trudeau toppled nearly a decade of Conservative power in 2015, his stunning victory was guided by a different set of economic vibes. Liberals knew that then-incumbent Conservative leader STEPHEN HARPER had more credibility among voters on the economy. They studied the anger that propelled Occupy Wall Street, taking note of the backlash against the super rich. That American anger and its border-crossing left-leaning populist message honed their message on helping the middle class — a focus the Liberals are keen to own again for the next election when the economic conditions are right. | 
