It’s not unexpected, but over the past fifty-two hours or so, we are getting the attempts to wedge the Canada Angle™ onto the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris handoff, and trying to somehow it to Justin Trudeau. When it comes from ignorant Americans, it’s a bit creepy and you want to tell them to worry about their own messes. When it comes from Canadians, it’s cringey and a little bit desperate.
Maybe American commenters should stick to their own knitting for a while. pic.twitter.com/jd3ynY4F0W
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) July 22, 2024
https://t.co/kxxUZ9OAiT pic.twitter.com/eQ8t7W0YBr
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) July 23, 2024
Even if Justin Trudeau were to somehow miraculously decide it was time for him to step aside, say after a long walk along the beach during his vacation right now, there will be no automatic handoff to Chrystia Freeland. Even if she were still interested in the leadership at this point (and it’s not clear if she were, because I suspect that even she realizes that no matter how competent of a minister she is, she’s something of a charisma black hole), there is no internal process for leadership selection, and the process the party designed to bring us Trudeau needs months of voter sign-ups in order to build to a coronation for a new personality cult hermit crab to inherit the empty shell of a party brand. It’s not a quick pivot, and Trudeau would likely still need to remain in a leadership capacity until a handoff, months later, which gives his successor little runway. (As I wrote in my column, if this were a healthy Westminster democracy with caucus selection of leadership, this could have been handled weeks or months ago).
Aside from that fact, there is no consensus candidate to be that replacement that would allow for a handoff like with Harris, where the Americans’ interminable election process means that they had little time to find a replacement before their convention, and all of the major players decided to line up behind Harris. That wouldn’t happen here because there is no one that the party is going to rally around as a whole. There are frankly too many personalities who want that leadership, even if it’s a poisoned chalice by now, and I’m not sure how the dynamics of trying to convert from one cult of personality to another plays on the fly rather than after a complete crash and rebuild. In any case, this isn’t the US, it’s not even remotely the same as Biden/Harris, and the pundit class needs to cool their jets.
— Effin' Birds (@EffinBirds) July 22, 2024
Ukraine Dispatch
A Russian attack damaged a power facility in the Sumy region, resulting in more power cuts. Russians claim that a Ukrainian drone attack damaged a ferry and killed one person in port.
General Valery Zaluzhny, #Ukraine's former Commander-in-Chief and current ambassador to the #UK, delivered his first speech in London at a Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) conference.
He warned the world about the need to prepare societies for defense against aggressive… pic.twitter.com/uCyxf27cCw
— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) July 23, 2024
⚡️Russian forces strike Kharkiv, killing civilian.
Russia targeted Kharkiv and surrounding areas with S-300 missiles overnight on July 24, killing one person and injuring another, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov and local governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. https://t.co/Kpzn35nBsr
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 24, 2024