Canada: Trudeau announces resignation
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that he is stepping down as leader of his Liberal Party. He will also resign as prime minister as soon as a successor is found, Trudeau said on Monday. Once hailed by many Canadians as a beacon of hope, Trudeau, who has been in office since 2015, has increasingly come under fire recently, in particular over his economic policy.
Vain, rudderless, the worst to date
For Michael Taube commenting in The Spectator, it was high time for Trudeau to go:
“Trudeau is not only the worst prime minister in Canadian history, but also the most delusional. ... Trudeau either felt he'd done nothing wrong as PM – or that everyone else was to blame for his demise. He also seemingly thought that he could turn this rudderless Liberal ship around. Based on what evidence? Beats me. The list of his failures, missteps and blunders since becoming PM in 2015 leaves the mistakes of every previous prime minister in the dust.”
The problem with the US
Corriere della Sera analyses Trudeau's withdrawal in the context of Donald Trump's approaching inauguration:
“The US president-elect made fun of Trudeau by calling him a 'governor' and alluding to the possibility of Canada becoming the US's 51st state. The prime minister in Ottawa responded by describing the Republican's victory against Kamala Harris as proof of a regressive machismo across the border. ... Canada, however, cannot get along without the US, its most important trading partner. ... Canada's economy is ailing, GDP per capita is in free fall, and US neo-protectionism certainly won't help boost the Canadians' purchasing power.”