Canada’s PM drops by the table to put manners back on the menu
It’s Wednesday afternoon at Monocle’s HQ in Zürich and our café is in full swing with the usual mix of matcha mums, family office custodians, neighbours and subscribers. It’s sunny and just a little fresh, so a few regulars have taken up seats outside to enjoy an early negroni or the last espresso hit of the day. No one notices the VW Estate that pulls up out front or the pleasant-looking gentleman who steps out. He wanders back and forth surveying the street. He makes a call. He paces around a bit more, looks up and down the road. A car slows, he nods and walks back to his vehicle and opens the back. He then returns with a stack of tiny traffic cones, like you might have found in a Fisher-Price boxset but only slightly larger. He places them perfectly along the road, a little outside the parking lines. He makes another call and then comes over to introduce himself. He’s an officer with Zürich’s Stadtpolizei (city police) and part of the security and traffic control team for movements around The World Economic Forum. “They’re 10 minutes out,” he says, consulting his phone.
Nine minutes later, there are some blue flashing lights down the street; and 45 seconds after that, a very slow-moving motorcade comes into view. There’s no screeching up to the curb in Seefeld. Goodness no. This being a city run by car-haters, 30km/h is strictly obeyed – no matter how easy it might make it for a rooftop assassin. But as we’re soon to find, the slow speeds might be for the locals to blow kisses and throw flowers. After his speech in Davos 24 hours earlier, Canada’s prime minister has the Swiss suddenly swooning and the ‘Carneyval’ is about to kick off as the PM emerges from one of the lead vehicles.
A few of us are out front to greet him while heads turn inside the café and Trunk shop. Could it be? Is it him? There are people peering down from the floors above and soon their fellow tenants shuffle down the stairs to confirm the sighting and hope of a picture.
I’ve known Mark Carney since his days at the Bank of England and have come to count him as a wise counsellor, a customer (where do you think that olive bag is from?), a calming force and, most importantly, a friend. He makes his way to Trunk with Mats alongside and he takes a read of the rails and shelves. Carney has already done much to up the image of brand Canada on the world stage and thankfully it has involved navy suits, dark ties and elegant footwear. Gone are the comedy socks and poorly cut suits of the Justin Trudeau years and, as is often the case with strong, well-turned out leaders, his personal style is starting to rub off on other members of his cabinet – albeit a bit slower than he’d probably like.
As we walk into our café there are Swissies who want photos, he gets nods and thank yous from others and stops to chat to a small contingent of Canadians who might have been tipped off about his arrival. We’ve cleared the lounge for a little chat about the past few days and land on the collapse of public discourse and decency. “Does the behaviour, the language, of US leadership on both sides of the aisle become the acceptable way to conduct yourself in the world? Were Gavin Newsom’s comments about European leadership needing kneepads necessary? What happened to taking the more elegant high ground?” I ask. At this point, it’s important to note that Prime Minister Carney is visiting Monocle while Trump took to the stage to insult his hosts. We say cheers and I ask for another round to be poured.
If the Swiss, plus much of Europe and the world in general, weren’t familiar with Carney’s themes before Tuesday, there’s a strong constituency who are not only impressed but hoping that Canada might finally take a bigger role in a G7 and global context. Back in June, Carney tried out his “if we’re not at the table, then we’re on the menu” concept on me and it stuck in an instant. At the podium in Davos, those words rang even truer. Carney might also add that if you get a seat at the table then you speak politely, charm your neighbours, ask questions of those around you, refill glasses and be the consummate host. As he made his way out to the waiting motorcade, he demonstrated just that tact with those gathered to say hello, goodbye and thank you. This is what modern leadership looks like – warm, assured, human and confident.
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