Friday December 8, 2023 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated December 11, 2023]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
On social media the morning the photos were pretty amazing! Former Premier John Horgan — now Canada’s Ambassador to Germany — in a formal long-style tuxedo, showing off his new stature in the usual Horgan way… laid back, and featuring others including his new staff.
He might still be ‘just John from Langford’ to local folks (and perhaps also ‘John in Colwood’ with his new stint as a remote mentor to Royal Roads University leadership students), but this is a high bar on the world stage for a man who grew up with humble roots on south Vancouver Island.
Indeed, vestis virum facit — ‘clothes make the man’… (the way we dress can influence how others perceive us). But Horgan is a self-made man, building a career by supporting and opening doors for others. He never really says it out loud, but on a personal level his mission is embued with a spiritual approach to living that could generally be described as ‘giving back’ for a higher purpose.
Not much has been said as to the exact underlying goals of placing Horgan in Germany, but obviously there are some economic and possibly some broader political objectives in mind. And it might be noted that Germany is one country away from the active war in Ukraine (Poland sits in between).
“It was a great honour to meet Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier today and begin my assignment as Canada’s Ambassador to Germany,” said Ambassador John Horgan in a post in social media today. “I very much look forward to working with our German friends and partners to further strengthen the ties between our two countries.”
He also posted: “Greetings from the Embassy of Canada to Germany! Thank you to my colleagues for the warm welcome. I look forward to working with the teams in Berlin, Munich and Duesseldorf to further deepen the strong relationship.”
The proper title for John Horgan in his new role is His Excellency.
Proportional representation:
Long-time a student of government and how it works, Horgan might have at least a curiosity about how the proportional representation system of government works in Germany.
Germans elect their members of parliament with two votes. The first vote is for a direct candidate, who is required to receive a plurality vote in their electoral district. The second vote is used to elect a party list in each state as established by its respective party caucus.
Christmas upcoming:
Any upcoming photos of Horgan’s first Christmas in Europe are likely to be elegant. After all, it was in Germany where the original idea was born for the decorating of a live cut tree in the home for Christmas, for a visit by Saint Nicholas.
===== RELATED:
- Horgan keeps one foot in the west shore (November 23, 2023)
- Horgan heads to Germany (November 1, 2023)
- John Horgan wraps up 18 years in BC elected politics (February 9, 2023)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends posts daily news at IslandSocialTrends.ca.
Founder and editor Mary P Brooke began writing about the west shore of the south Vancouver Island region in 2008 through what is an ongoing series of print publications: MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), West Shore Voice News (2014-2020), and now Island Social Trends (online at IslandSocialTrends.ca mid-2020 to present).
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