The resignation of the long-serving Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday is among the leading topics in the world press, BTA writes.
The Prime Minister of Canada is facing growing unpopularity after nine years in power, the French newspaper notes. "Le Monde", which published an interview with Genevieve Tellier, a political science professor at the University of Ottawa, who discusses in an interview with the newspaper the reasons that forced Trudeau to take this step.
"I intend to resign as leader of the (Liberal) Party and as prime minister once the party chooses its next leader", the 50-year-old politician said from the courtyard of his home in Ottawa, noting that parliament "has been paralyzed for months". He announced an extension of the parliamentary recess until the end of March - as opposed to the originally set deadline of the end of January - thus raising the prospect of new elections.
Genevieve Tellier notes that for several months the head of the Canadian government has been under attack both from the conservative opposition and within his own camp, accumulating missteps and concessions.
Trudeau leaves Canada's Liberal Party in disarray, notes the British newspaper "The Guardian". Now his decision to resign sets off an internal leadership battle, the outcome of which could determine the future of the party.
On a frosty Monday morning, Trudeau said that while "every bone in my body is telling me to fight," the procedural deadlock in parliament and his disastrous poll results mean he is out of the running for a fourth term as leader. His decision to step down from the post he has held for nearly a decade comes at a time when the party's political fortunes are in free fall after it lost key political strongholds in the latest by-election and prominent ministers quit the cabinet.
All opposition parties have vowed to topple Trudeau's minority government if they have the chance, and recent polls show the Liberals at 16% support, the party's lowest approval rating in more than a century.
With the upcoming leadership race looming, Trudeau's dramatic transformation of the Liberal Party into a political structure united around its leader - and a leader with no obvious successor - highlights the challenge facing future candidates vying for the top job, and the damage the prime minister has done by stalling that process.
In 2013, Trudeau became leader of a Liberal Party that was reeling from a series of defeats. He made rapid changes that effectively severed ties with the previous generation of party leaders. But over the years, he himself has found himself embroiled in a series of personal scandals, including a family trip to the Aga Khan’s private island and skipping the country’s first national day of truth and reconciliation to go surfing. Three photos of the Canadian prime minister with blackened face and revelations that members of his family had received hundreds of thousands of dollars from a charity that his government had recently awarded a major contract have also undermined his carefully crafted public image.
Trudeau’s apparent inability to understand the public outcry in each case explains why he has long refused to step down. He could now leave the party in as bad a state or worse than when he took office, he warns the Guardian. Scott Reid, political advisor to former Prime Minister Paul Martin.
Donald Trump barely waited for his victory in the presidential election to be confirmed before calling again for the merger of the United States and Canada, notes the French newspaper "Libération".
"As if Canada needed it", notes the French publication. As soon as his victory in the presidential election in November was certified by the US Congress (in circumstances far calmer than those four years ago), Donald Trump immediately confirmed his enthusiasm for the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state of the United States.
"If Canada merged with the United States, there would be no tariffs, taxes would be significantly reduced and Canada would be COMPLETELY SAFE from the threat of Russian and Chinese ships constantly surrounding it. "What a great nation we would be together," the president-elect wrote on his social media account, "Truth Social."
Canada, in the midst of a political crisis, will appreciate this - the world's second-largest country, whose Prime Minister Trudeau had just resigned, is plunged into a crisis that it owes in large part to its noisy southern neighbor. The billionaire, who will take office on January 20 with the blessing of all of Silicon Valley, has stepped up his tariff threats against Canada, promising to impose 25 percent tariffs as soon as he returns to the Oval Office.
A disaster for Ottawa, which exports 75 percent of its production to the United States. The conflict over the best response to Trump's threats led to the resignation of Chrystia Freeland, a longtime Trudeau ally. After the election, the Canadian prime minister tried, unsuccessfully, to dissuade the president-elect during a visit to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Even worse, the visit did not stop Trump from using new derogatory terms for the Liberal prime minister, calling him "governor", as if he were the head of an American state.
"Many in Canada LOVE being the 51st state" Trump said on his social network "Truth Social", notes the British newspaper "Independent". The publication notes that at the press conference announcing his resignation, Trudeau said that the next government would focus primarily on the economy.
Trudeau announced that it was time for a "restart". However, he will remain both leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister until a new leader is elected, notes the "New York Times".