Tom Harwood: Canada finds its own weak and wobbly Prime Minister in Justin Trudeau

Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. The immortal words of Theresa May during her disastrous 2017 election campaign.

Well these words can now equally be applied to another politician. Justin Trudeau.

Despite claiming victory this morning in the Canadian election he called to win a majority, the reality is nothing has changed.

The proportion of seats remains roughly the same as before, leaving Trudeau still at the helm of an unstable minority administration.

In vote share, his Liberals have once again been beaten by the Conservatives. At this stage it has become pretty clear that the proportion voting for Trudeau's party has slipped back even from his lacklustre performance in 2019.

Despite this he clings on to a plurality of seats.

So what was it all for?

$610 million Canadian dollars have been splurged on an unnecessary mid-pandemic election that has changed precisely zilch.

To come short in one election could be forgiven. To do it a second time in an unnecessary, expensive, arrogant snap election - itself called simply to win a majority - ... well to fail in that task begins to look incompetent.

In an early hours address to his party faithful, the beleaguered Prime Minister put on a brave face, declaring to the nation that

"You are sending us back to work with a clear mandate to get through this pandemic into brighter days ahead".

A clear mandate? Losing the popular vote and failing to win a majority of seats doesn't sound like the clearest mandate of all to me.

Understandably, though, the Prime Minister has to project stability. Other parties realistically simply don't have the numbers to form a realistic government.

At the end of the day nobody is a winner today, and there's very little Justin Trudeau should be celebrating tonight.

The sharks will be circling within his party. He knows his days are numbered. Even if his party manages to last out the parliament in power, he will not.

Parties don't like to limp on led by people who cannot win elections for longer than they have to.

In Justin Trudeau, Canada has found its own weak and wobbly Prime Minister.