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The watchword in Trudeau’s PMO is to do the opposite. Ignore daily headlines, particularly those emanating from debate in the House of Commons; deflect or duck opposition and media criticism, which is inevitable and disruptive by design; and focus on achieving key, big goals – such as, for example, getting an oil pipeline to tidewater, or nurturing a new trading relationship with China.

As strategies go, it’s neither crazed nor unprecedented. It’s lifted from the Brian Mulroney playbook of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Slings and arrows are inevitable and popularity is fleeting. What matters – all that matters, Mulroney held – is the caliber of a PM’s major achievements while in office.

In that sense, recent commentary suggesting Trudeau and his team have cynically flipped from “sunny ways” to “darker days” misses the mark. It would be more accurate to say they know they’re in for a slog on the pipeline file, understand they face great uncertainty on the trade and geopolitical fronts with the accession of Donald Trump to the White House, and consider cash-for-access stories to be a distraction. So let Government House Leader Bardish Chagger gamely repeat her talking point that no rules were broken, keep calm and carry on.

This is a mistake, potentially very damaging to Trudeau, his government and their ability to get things done, for this reason: It not only cedes the moral high ground but makes a mockery of it. That erodes their standing, not only in the Commons, but ultimately in the real world. The Liberals have too many tough ground battles ahead, put simply, for them to jettison so much political capital, so soon in their mandate.