Tall order

So Mark Carney has put all his holdings in a blind trust, as the law dictates for a prime minister. So what? The problem with blind trusts for rich people like Carney is that he knows what’s in it and the folks who supervise these things aren’t likely to change the contents very much. This issue matters in the case of Carney because I would assume that the value of his blind trust is something like $25 million. That’s got to be far more personal wealth than any previous Canadian PM.
Some of that will be invested in bonds and other such assets that anyone would just hang onto. No problem there. Other holdings, however, are likely in equities where values can go up and down. But blind or not, he knows what he holds. His trustee isn’t likely to eliminate shares held in a blue-chip Royal Bank, if he holds them, and he probably does. Will such a holding change his government’s stance towards Royal? Or other Canadian banks? Maybe not, but who knows? 
There must also be future payments due to Carney from Brookfield, his former home. Top executives tend to set up payouts that extend over a long period of time, just like New York Mets slugger Juan Soto who recently signed a 15-year $765 million contract that could outlast his playing career. We’ve already seen Carney “forget” a Brookfield activity during his time seeking office. Will there be more such moments?
To my mind, a blind trust is a deaf-and-dumb idea.
So, what’s the answer? I say, let’s do away with blind trusts. Instead, a newly elected prime minister must cash out as much as he/she can at the time of assuming office. In addition, they must reveal any and all future payments that can’t be collateralized immediately. That way, we voters know when prime ministers are acting in their own best interests and when they might not be.
But Carney has another shortcoming, and I use the word carefully. To my mind, he’s a little short to be a leader. When he met recently with King Charles as well as the British and French leaders all the photographs showed him pretty much an equal in height. Carney is 5’9″ while the King and the two leaders are both in the 5’8″ to 5’10” range.
But what happens when Carney visits the White House? At 6’3″ Trump will tower over him by 6″ – half a foot – and stand a good chance of dominating the conversation as a result. Maybe that’s why Trump is last on Carney’s call list of leaders.