A word of advice for the Prime Minister: The French don’t actually wear berets. If you sport one on the Left Bank, you will look odd.
It’s possible Justin Trudeau and his staff already know that the traditional Basque caps, donned by Gallic impersonators the world over, are not the stuff of everyday Parisian dress.
Then again, the PM’s record leaves room for doubt.
He left Thursday for a nine-day trip to three countries: first stop, Peru for the Summit of the Americas; then on to France for an official visit; and then the United Kingdom for a Commonwealth meeting. (He’ll be stopping in Ottawa between Lima and Paris to convene with the premiers of Alberta and B.C. about the Trans Mountain pipeline.)
Routine stuff for most governments. But not this one.
The PM’s last jaunt abroad was – there’s no other way of putting it – an embarrassing failure. In India in February, he appeared to lack any real agenda or serve any national purpose. He drifted between tourist sites staging photo ops designed for a domestic audience, and was embarrassed when his wife and a member of his cabinet were photographed with a convicted Sikh separatist gunman at an official event in Mumbai.
The trip’s enduring image was of Mr. Trudeau dressed in traditional Indian garb while his hosts greeted him in demure black suits. It all gave the impression that, in foreign affairs, Mr. Trudeau can be callow and superficial.
This time around, the PM should be able to avoid the same pitfalls. Two of the trip’s three legs are for scheduled international confabs, and he won’t be in any one country for more than a few days, so he’ll be busy.
In Lima and Peru, the agendas will be clear, centering on the meat-and-potatoes issue of global trade: within the western hemisphere, and among Commonwealth nations post-Brexit, respectively.
Mr. Trudeau and the youthful French President Emmanuel Macron will also have plenty to talk about: innovation policy, counterterrorism, peacekeeping in Africa.
If the PM sticks to his knitting, this promises to be a much more fruitful trip than his last one. Still, a word to the wise: In London, only palace guards wear those tall, furry hats.