pampango
pampango's JournalTrudeau: what we found in Canada was that people are better than divisive politicians think they are
“By appealing to people’s better angels, by drawing people together rather than stoking fears and anxieties, we were actually able to create a government that is focused on strengthening the middle class, to allay those fears and anxieties and demonstrate a positive engagement with the world,” Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday evening.
“Last fall, we had a political campaign that featured Islamophobia and divisive personal attacks, pandering to fear and insecurity like we do see elsewhere around the world these days,” Trudeau said. “The point that is so important to emphasize is that what we found in Canada was that people are better than divisive politicians think they are.”
His message is similar to that of U.S. President Barack Obama, who defended globalization, denounced walls between nations and argued for policies that allow working people to experience the benefits of the global economy.
“In Canada, we got a very important thing right. In Canada, we see diversity as a source of strength, not weakness,” Trudeau said. “Our country is strong, not in spite of our differences, but because of them.”
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/09/20/prime-minister-justin-trudeau-to-deliver-first-un-address.html
Canadians embraced diversity and a focus on strengthening the middle class last fall over politicians who pander to fear, anxiety and insecurity. I hope Americans do the same this fall.
Trudeau criticizes Trump and ‘divisive, fearful rhetoric’ of anti-globalization forces as leaders
gather for G20.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used his first appearance at the meetings around this year’s G20 summit Saturday to criticize the anti-globalization sentiment on the rise in places like the United States and United Kingdom.
During a B20 event Saturday — a gathering of business associations from G20 economies — that also featured the presidents of South Africa and Argentina, Trudeau advocated for international trade, openness and pushed the theme of “inclusive growth” for the middle class.
In what seemed an overt reference to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, he said “building walls” is not an avenue for growth.
Trudeau also cautioned against the protectionism that fuelled in part the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union.
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/trudeau-criticizes-divisive-fearful-rhetoric-of-anti-globalization-forces-as-leaders-gather-for-g20
Let's hope that Trudeau, Canada and the rest of the world don't have to figure out how to survive a President Trump.
Angela Merkel and Marine Le Pen: one of them will shape Europe’s future
Two very different women hold Europe’s future in their hands – and neither of them is Theresa May. The battle for Europe’s soul is being waged between Angela Merkel and Marine Le Pen. This is a clash of personalities and visions: Germany’s chancellor v the leader of France’s Front National, the largest far-right party in Europe. As Britain prepares to leave the EU, the Franco-German dimension of the continent’s destiny has arguably never been so important since the end of the cold war.
It is only partly reassuring to say that Le Pen has little chance of becoming president next year (the French electoral system makes that difficult). The trouble is, in recent months, her brand of anti-Muslim, xenophobic and nationalistic politics has spread across the French mainstream right like wildfire. Le Pen is fast capitalising on this summer’s burkini episode and on the national trauma left by jihadi terrorism.
Marine Le Pen’s single most powerful opponent is to be found outside France: Angela Merkel. Le Pen hates Merkel, and Merkel despises Le Pen. They confront each other in a fight of European proportions. Le Pen has often attacked the chancellor – once describing her as an “empress” imposing “illegal immigration” on the whole of Europe.
These two women have one thing in common and one thing only: the depth of their political conviction. Angela Merkel has been unwavering in her message that welcoming refugees is the right thing to do; Le Pen fumes against “rampant Islamisation” of the continent. Merkel wants to save the European project; Le Pen is fully aligned with forces that want to dismantle it (she recently said on CNN that France had become an EU “province”). Merkel nurtures the transatlantic link; Le Pen admires Putin’s Russia – her party sits at the heart of pro-Kremlin networks in Europe, financial ones among them.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/02/angela-merkel-marine-le-pen-europe-destiny
The anti-immigrant, anti-refugee mentality on the right seems to be a growing phenomenon on both sides of the Atlantic. The battle must be waged to defeat it.
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