This week, Canada followed the lead of the United States by beginning the repatriation of non-essential personnel from its embassy in Ukraine and by increasing its assistance to the Ukrainian government, by expanding its training program for its soldiers. Among other things. These decisions were taken while the threat of an invasion of the former Soviet republic by Russia still looms.
However, if Justin Trudeau’s foreign policy finds itself once again on the same tone as that of Joe Biden – while speaking however always a little behind – the position of the right-wing political formations in the two countries, it is far from being so aligned.
This is because, on the Canadian side, the Conservatives are calling, in unison, for more firmness to curb Russia’s belligerent excesses and even denounce, in passing, the weakness of the federal government’s commitments, which for the moment refuses to to send arms to Ukraine.
For its part, the American right is divided, leaving its most radical and most pro-Trump fringe to question the American intervention in this conflict, in addition to supporting in barely veiled words the position of Moscow, which bombards the torso on the side of its border with Ukraine.
On Monday, Republican Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana opposed Joe Biden’s placing 8,500 US military personnel on alert, saying he “is not in the game.” [leur] national interest to spill American blood and treasure in Ukraine,” he said in a statement. A preparation for war that was described as “crazy” by Donald Trump this week, in the podcast of the ultraconservative Lou Dobbs, also opposed to any confrontation with Russia.
“To be clear, what is happening in Russia is concerning. But it’s a problem for Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe, Paul Gosar of Arizona, a particularly vocal pro-Trump congressman, said in an op-ed Thursday. Not a single American soldier should be sent around the world to fight or to protect the Russian-Ukrainian border. »
Conversely, Canadian Conservatives reacted strongly on Wednesday to Ottawa’s announcement on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, deeming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “unable to adopt concrete measures” to counter a threat of Russian invasion which is becoming more threatening every day in Ukraine.
“Today, Prime Minister Trudeau had the opportunity to do the right thing to support Ukraine against Russian aggression by supplying it with lethal defensive weapons. He did not,” Erin O’Toole’s party lamented in a statement, recalling that the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, however, the Czech Republic and other countries have already supplied this type of weapon.
On Wednesday, Canada announced the sending of 60 more soldiers to help train the Ukrainian army, bringing the contingent to 260. The federal government announced a contribution of non-lethal equipment, such as bulletproof vests or optical readers, in addition to increasing the capacity of its diplomatic corps in Ottawa and Kyiv to deal with what happens next.
“With growing signs of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Trudeau’s time for dithering must now come to an end,” the Conservatives hammered earlier this week.
Contaminated by its extreme
Nevertheless, for Republican strategist Gary Sasse, joined by The duty in Rhode Island, the positions of the American and Canadian right are not that far apart. After all, on Tuesday Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, though a staunch critic of the US president, hailed his approach to deterring further Russian aggression against Ukraine, calling it “encouraging” and “a step in the right direction”.
But this speech of the old republican guard remains contaminated by the many pro-Russian declarations of the radical wing of the party, without much credibility however according to this analyst.
« Former President Trump’s Comments [et de ses alliés] on the current situation in Ukraine have no credibility when one remembers that he faced impeachment proceedings at the end of his term for trying to blackmail Ukraine and delaying the sending of aid American, he said. His actions only served to embolden Vladimir Putin” and to inflame a conflict that has since continued to get bogged down, as evidenced by the diplomatic crisis of recent weeks.
Opportunist Opposition
The anti-interventionist and pro-Russian rhetoric of the American right in Ukraine, however, is supported by ultraconservative influencer and Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who continues to amplify this challenge, another fuel for undermining American foreign policy.
“Why would we take the side of Ukraine and not that of Russia? he also launched this week to his guest, Congressman Michael Turner of Ohio, a moderate Republican who sits on the Intelligence Committee of the House of Representatives. The latter replied: “Ukraine is a democracy. Russia is an authoritarian regime that seeks to impose its will on an elected Ukrainian democracy. And we are on the side of democracy. »
“A lot of elected Republicans, just like Fox News hosts, have the midterm elections [en novembre prochain] in the line of fire, sums up the former political adviser to Al Gore and professor of political communication Robert Lehrman, joined in Washington. And in this context, all means are good to make Joe Biden a target. If the president spoke out for the consumption of milk, Tucker Carlson would say that it is cruel for the cows, ”he quips.
Ukraine is a democracy. Russia is an authoritarian regime that seeks to impose its will on an elected Ukrainian democracy. And we are on the side of democracy.
However, partisan lines do not really color the perception of the conflict by Americans, who consider the Russian military threat in Ukraine to be minor in the same proportions among Republicans (36%) as among Democrats (33%), indicates a study by the Pew Research Center. They also see Russia more as a competitor than an enemy, whether they vote left, center or right.
The only downside: a Yahoo News/YouGov poll published this week revealed that 62% of Republicans and independents consider Russian President Vladimir Putin to be stronger than Joe Biden. A weakness exploited by the radical right which, by dividing American conservatives, also complicates the quest for unity sought by Westerners to form a common front against the Kremlin.
“Our allies are watching closely for signs of division here,” summarized Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal in the pages of the New York Times Thursday, by denouncing “the rhetoric of the extreme right”, perfidious, which once again manages to appropriate the divisions of others to feed those useful to its camp.