Trudeau bows out: Donald Trump's onslaught was the final blow |
The resignation of Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, in December was another severe setback to a Government having lost coalition support.
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by RM Nair
OTTAWA, Jan 6: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has been gradually losing
support from his own partymen over an economic crisis of price rise and housing
shortages and a liberal immigration policy which made him unpopular among the
people in the last few years, has resigned.
A majority of his Liberal party MPs and the conservative Opposition have been
pressing for his resignation. However, what forced him to quit so soon was US
President-elect Donald Trump's threat to slap a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian
goods to balance the accumulating trade deficit as soon as he takes office on
January 20, which would cripple Canada's economy. The impact on the country
Trudeau would not have been able to face. Canada is a major trade partner of
the US.
Opinion polls also started showing a surge in support for the Opposition party.
His resignation could be seen as choosing to jump before he is pushed, wrote
CNN.
Trudeau, 53, told a press conference on Monday outside his residence at Rideau
Cottage in Ottawa that he was resigning as party leader and Prime Minister and
will continue as caretaker PM till a new leader is chosen by the party for the
ramainder of the term till the next election due in October. He also recommended
proroguing the parliament till March 24.
"I have informed my party and the Governor that I intend to resign as leader
of the party as well as Prime Minister of Canada, and will do so as soon as
my successor is appointed through a robust nationwide competitive process,"
Trudeau said.
He remarked, “This country deserves a real choice in the next election and
it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot
be the best option in that election.”
Three reasons that quickened the pace
Trudeau's minority Government has been surviving on support of other small
parties in a coalition when Jagmeet Singh's New Democratic Party (NDP) withdrew
support. He came to power in 2015 riding on a popular wave of support promising
“sunny ways” for Canada but soon began losing ground through 2019 and 2021 (snap)
elections. The resignation of Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance
Minister, in December was another severe blow to a Government hanging in the
balance.
And Trump's repeated threat to slap a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods
if the flow of illegal immigrants to the US is not stopped was the final death
knell for Trudeau as he would not be able to deal with the impact when Trump
executes his threat upon his inauguration on January 20.
A cornered Trudeau during his presser proposed that "Voters should be allowed
to pick their second and third choices on the voting ballot itself, instead
of the current system, which is set up to play to the advantage of those who
want to polarise the situation and play Canadians against each other."
Trudeau's confidant Dominic LeBlanc is among the candidates being proposed
for interim leader. He has been the Finance Minister since December when Chrystia
Freeland resigned after differences over economic policies.
Melanie Joly and Francois-Philippe Champagne, also from his Cabinet, and former
Governor of Bank of Canada Mark Carneyare are other likely faces.
Trump reaction
Reacting to Trudeau’s resignation Trump repeated his proposal that Canada merge
with the US.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no
longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to
stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned,” he said on Truth Social.
“If Canada merged with the US, there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way
down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese
Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it
would be!!!” he said.
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SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES |
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Top Govt officer thrashed, kicked inside Bhubaneswar office: Incident sparks a debate
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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
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UK's House of Commons votes to legalise assisted dying: What it means | |
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
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What caused Air India Boeing 787 crash? Some questions, some answers | |
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
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Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line brings Kashmir Valley on India's rail map |
- The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
- The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
- The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest
railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)
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Work done, Elon Musk steps down from DOGE, leaves White House | |
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
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Ailing Asiatic lion Pataudi too dies of bird flu at Kanpur zoo
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Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
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48 tourist destinations closed in Kashmir following Pahalgam terror attack
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As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
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Trump slaps ‘kind’, ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on trading partners; a 'lenient' 26% on India!
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ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
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Trump signs order to shut Education Dept - And the contrast with India
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PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
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Sunita, Wilmore's Dragon splashes down in Gulf: What delayed their return? |
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
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All 80k health workers in US offered $25,000 voluntary buyout: Administering wrong prescriptions!
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The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
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