I was 19 years old when I met Justin Trudeau. It was 2014 and he had just become leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Bronzed and beaming, he floated into the private members club where I worked to attend a party fundraising event.

Flanked by security guards, various hangers-on scuttling in his wake, Trudeau had an unmistakable debonair charm. I teetered nervously in six-inch stilettos behind the desk, half obscured by a ridiculous arrangement of white orchids. He strolled over to shake hands with my colleague and I before disappearing into the gala, cheesy politician’s grin not even twitching at the corners. It was obvious he would be the next Prime Minister of Canada. He had “It”. And the country needed “It”, a quality not seen since his dad Pierre Trudeau was in office decades prior.

Stephen Harper, Prime Minister before the younger Trudeau, was famous on the world stage only for how forgettable he was. So forgettable, the G20 leaders once took their traditional summit photo without him. They had to be corralled two hours later for a retake. “Hey Steve, back for you,” President Barack Obama ribbed as he shook Harper’s hand.

There’s something to be said for a leader that possesses that je ne sais quois. Magnetism. Charm. Charisma. Rizz if you were born after 9/11. Watching Trudeau on Steven Colbert last month, it was obvious he’s still got It a decade later. Something that is sorely lacking in Scotland’s largest city at the moment.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Image: Ryan Remiorz)

The ‘Does Glasgow Need A Mayor?’ debate was given mouth to mouth this week when Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken accused Sir Keir Starmer of ‘excluding’ her from his first Council of Nations and Regions meeting. Scotland will be represented by the Scottish Government while England’s metro mayors from areas as small as Peterborough travel up to Edinburgh to represent their constituents. A cheeky Labour source said they were “delighted” the SNP “seem to now agree” with Scottish Labour’s case for elected mayors. The Glasgow SNP, on the other hand, see it as a typical Westminster bias against Scottish cities.

It's tempting to fantasize about some hotshot swooping in to fix the Glasgow City Region with a shiny new mayor badge. Someone who lives and breathes the city. A champion to change the negative aura slinking low over our rolling brownfields and crumbling buildings. It’s also tempting to look longingly at Manchester and its king of the north, Andy Burnham. Imagine what a figure like that could do for Glasgow?

This is especially true when our current council leader’s idea of injecting positivity into things is what I understand to be the speech equivalent of a 7.5mg tablet of Zopiclone. “Over the next few years, various parts of the city centre are going to be literally building sites and that includes George Square, but I can assure you it is absolutely going to be building for the better.”

Discussions over whether we need a night czar also crop up intermittently. These positions tend to evolve into night mayors as Willam Hague once suggested. Take Andy Burnham’s buddy Sacha Lord. The Manchester night czar is currently being investigated by Arts Council England following fraud allegations. Amy Lame stepped down as night czar in London and the city has no plans to replace her. The Guardian’s Ed Gillett described her as a “political lightweight…who has hoovered up public money while achieving little”. Glorifying these gaffers only pays off when you have an infallible media darling on the throne. It’s risky.

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While the parties bicker about to-mayor-or-not-to-mayor, I will mention that we do have a Lord Provost. A position that could be mayoral in nature with the right person at the helm. Alas. Here we are.

What the city desperately needs is optimism. Some inspiration. The council lost the narrative a long time ago – a rookie mistake. Instead of championing a vision for the city, they scramble to react to story after story in the press about how the streets have turned into one big midden. Take Sauchiehall Street, for example. It took tooth and nail reporting from our sister title Glasgow Times to get the council to reveal the “real reason” the street was being dug up. Because the council felt they could not just say a new drainage system was needed. Don’t even bother trying to discuss Guy Fawkes at Glasgow Green with them.

In the absence of a leader (political or otherwise) with enough charm and drive to galvanise people, I have another suggestion. Hire a strong public relations and marketing team. And for the love of God, a decent graphic designer.

In the 1980s the city had the earliest and most successful attempt at a rebrand with former Lord Provost Michael Kelly’s Glasgow’s Miles Better. It has gone down in history as perhaps the greatest public relations exercise ever undertaken by a local authority in Britain. Now we have People Make Glasgow carved into the city’s cheeks. It sometimes feels like an accusation. “If the city has gone down the pan it’s your fault,” the Met Tower mocks as it leans over George Square.

Even worse, the Glasgow 850 plans and branding. The year-long celebration that involves giving money to commercial events like TRNSMT and GlasGLOW uses the slogan: “Glasgow, a city wearing it’s heart on its sleeve”. Its brand guidelines, aptly ridiculed on X, suggest this is the city where “even the fiercest rivals are brought together by ‘the banter’” (unless those rivals are SNP and Labour). I knew we were skint, but I didn’t realise it was this bad. Glasgow 850 should be an opportunity to celebrate what makes Glasgow a great place to live, for the people that live here. The lack of effort is insulting.

There is a lot of positive change happening in the city. It’s a shame that no one seems to be up to the task of selling it. The city needs someone who genuinely cares, is willing to take risks and is ready to stand up for Glasgow. Influential people, politicians or otherwise, have the power to shift public perception. It does not need to be a mayor, but I understand the draw. It would be nice to feel like someone is taking charge and fighting for the city. And people like to feel that someone with ambition is in control.

I will not wax lyrical about Justin Trudeau’s politics. I have not lived in Canada for a decade. All I am suggesting is that we could do with a bit of his je ne sais quois.

Marissa MacWhirter is the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. Each morning, Marissa curates the top local news stories from around the city, delivering them to your inbox at 7am daily so you can stay up to date on the best reporting without ads, clickbait or annoying digital clutter. Oh, and it’s free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1