I'm a sucker for those clickbait websites, particularly about films.  You know the ones — they hook you in and then ask you to scroll and load a new page to view a slideshow of trivia.  Well, the other day, there was one about the Sound of Music, one of my favourite movies as a child.  So I clicked.

It got me humming the songs I love, particularly, "How do you solve a problem like Maria?"  And then Stephane Dion gave a Conservative MP the thumbs down in reply to a consular question in the House of Commons.  That, of course, got me thinking: how do you solve a problem like Dion?
Another online ad caught my eye recently, too.  It was the twentieth anniversary party for Dion's career in politics.  Throughout his time on the national stage, the political science professor has had his share of ups and downs: a sterling global reputation as minister of the environment, polarising but brilliant as minister of inter-governmental affairs following the 1995 separation referendum, a train wreck as Liberal leader in the late-2000s.  When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed him foreign minister nearly a year ago, it was a fitting chance at redemption.
But so far, it's been a mixed bag.  In part, it seems it isn't all Dion's fault.  He's a victim of a strong team, and perhaps even kept somewhat out of the loop.  But that doesn't excuse some of his pedantic distractions.

First it was the bizarre legalese about not declaring that ISIL was committing genocide.  Then it was the apparent disconnect between what the PM had just been saying and what Dion said in terms of "negotiating" — or, in Dion's tortured vocabulary, "discussing" — with the Chinese on an extradition treaty.  Then the thumbs-down incident.

Even beyond these pedantic diversions, Dion seems to be suffering from being part of a strong bench.  Last autumn, it appeared he wanted to play a leading role in the Paris climate change negotiations, only to be gently elbowed aside by the capable Catherine McKenna, the environment minister, who quite rightly wanted the lead role for herself.  Defence Minister Harjit Sajan, likewise, has a strong grasp of military matters, including peacekeeping in Africa, making Dion more of a wingman on military issues.  Similarly, international assistance is well-managed by Marie-Claude Bibeau and her parliamentary secretary, Karina Gould.

These three areas — climate change negotiations, peacekeeping and international assistance — take a lot of potential areas for action away from Dion.  And, of course, the PM himself plays the lead role in most of the international diplomacy missions of note, rendering Dion yet again in the role of supporting actor.

This supporting role is not conducive to Dion's political personality.  He needs a file to sink his teeth into, a raison d'être to animate his efforts, otherwise he'll succumb to his instincts as a bored academic and continue to needle us all with pointless pedantic exercises.

What's to be done?  How can Dion reclaim centre stage, especially with such key files being run by his cabinet colleagues?

To start, Dion should play to his strengths.  He is a thoughtful, professorial politician: he should make no bones about it.  Therefore, to reenergise his tenure, why not start with an academic exercise.  Most of his colleagues — including the three aforementioned — started their ministerial tenures with various expert reviews and consultations.  Dion could stand to do the same, but not perhaps in the same manner.  Instead, a foreign policy conference with Canada's leading academics, diplomats and global businesspeople could focus on the challenging questions of our day — from Brexit and the migrant crisis in Europe, to the rise of China and the Asia-Pacific, to the growth in South America, to Russia's attempts at resurgence and the quagmire in the Middle East, all through a Canadian lens.

Dion was once mocked for asking, "Do you think it's easy to make priorities?"  The truth of the matter is that in foreign policy, it isn't easy to make priorities; there are simply too many demands on the foreign minister's attention to focus, unless that focus is deliberate and consistently exacted.

Dion needs what George HW Bush once derisively called, "the vision thing".  He needs to focus on an area of foreign policy that energises him, that he is passionate about.  There is no harm in engaging Canadian foreign policy experts to land on the right area or two that he feels merits his focus and personal passion.  If anything, Canadian foreign policy could use both the spotlight and the chance to thoughtfully redefine our goals in the global arena.

Photo Credit: CBC News