Your opinion on the G7/8 Leaders Part 1

[LegolasRedbard 4]

What is your opinion of the leaders of the seventh biggest economies in the world? And Russia. Can't forget Russia.

[Bruce Fischer 1]

Genuinely interested in what @Patine's opinion on Trudeau is. I adore him but I wonder what an actual Canadian thinks.

[Patine 469]

2 minutes ago, Bruce Fischer said:

Genuinely interested in what @Patine's opinion on Trudeau is. I adore him but I wonder what an actual Canadian thinks.

Understand, the 2015 election in Canada didn't bring out enthusiasm in me. Since Jack Layton, the last Federal party I could get any enthusiasm for and who has the greatest Federal NDP leader in terms of electoral success, died right after the party's greatest electoral victory in 2011, with the NDP becoming Official Opposition for the first time Federally (he died of prostrate cancer, a warning about the testing to the overwhelmingly male majority who posts on these threads), the leadership of the NDP fell into the hands Thomas Mulcair, who was an uncharismatic, boorish, dubious leader with a history of corruption and seemingly no real vision. So, when 2015 came around, in my mind, the authoritarian, manipulative, calculating, arrogant, paranoid Harper had to go, but I couldn't get behind Mulcair. So, I voted for Trudeau as a least of all evils candidate. However, his tenure has been lackluster and disappointing really. Not horrible or a disaster, I admit, and it's certainly a better alternative to Harper's, just a disappointment. It doesn't even bring out the strong emotions and opinions, however polarized, that his father's did. That's my opinion from Canada, to be frank.

[Patine 469]

4 hours ago, Bruce Fischer said:

Genuinely interested in what @Patine's opinion on Trudeau is. I adore him but I wonder what an actual Canadian thinks.

 

4 hours ago, Patine said:

Understand, the 2015 election in Canada didn't bring out enthusiasm in me. Since Jack Layton, the last Federal party I could get any enthusiasm for and who has the greatest Federal NDP leader in terms of electoral success, died right after the party's greatest electoral victory in 2011, with the NDP becoming Official Opposition for the first time Federally (he died of prostrate cancer, a warning about the testing to the overwhelmingly male majority who posts on these threads), the leadership of the NDP fell into the hands Thomas Mulcair, who was an uncharismatic, boorish, dubious leader with a history of corruption and seemingly no real vision. So, when 2015 came around, in my mind, the authoritarian, manipulative, calculating, arrogant, paranoid Harper had to go, but I couldn't get behind Mulcair. So, I voted for Trudeau as a least of all evils candidate. However, his tenure has been lackluster and disappointing really. Not horrible or a disaster, I admit, and it's certainly a better alternative to Harper's, just a disappointment. It doesn't even bring out the strong emotions and opinions, however polarized, that his father's did. That's my opinion from Canada, to be frank.

And speaking of the least (and worst) of all evils, some guy I've never heard of before from Saskatchewan named Andrew Scheer just won the Conservative leadership race. There's talk that he's a farther right-wing extremist than has ever been traditional for a leader of a major Canadian Federal Party...  

[Centrist Emperor Kerzaris 50]

I don't know people's opinion on the canadian PM but he is absolutely HOT. HOTTER THAN THE TEMPERATURE HERE. (33 degress :3 )

[Bruce Fischer 1]

32 minutes ago, HomosexualSocialist said:

I don't know people's opinion on the canadian PM but he is absolutely HOT. HOTTER THAN THE TEMPERATURE HERE. (33 degress :3 )

So like just barely above freezing

(JK I know we here in the US are stupid and backwards with our imperial system, and that 33C is like 92F)

[Centrist Emperor Kerzaris 50]

9 minutes ago, Bruce Fischer said:

So like just barely above freezing

(JK I know we here in the US are stupid and backwards with our imperial system, and that 33C is like 92F)

I read online that all you need to do is multiply celsius by two and add 26/28 something

Anyway, even if I'm half naked I'm still sweaty. My country has extremly hot temperature and extreme humidity. 

Our major news says that Summer is about to end in here but it feels like it's just starting.

Edited May 29, 2017 by HomosexualSocialist

[LegolasRedbard 4]

11 hours ago, HomosexualSocialist said:

I don't know people's opinion on the canadian PM but he is absolutely HOT. HOTTER THAN THE TEMPERATURE HERE. (33 degress :3 )

Agreed

[Guest]

1 hour ago, LegolasRedbard said:

Agreed

it's fun because he says that he is so tolerant and wants lots of rapefugees for his country.

Canada picks the best refugees only with very good qualifications.

He's a hypocrite

[LegolasRedbard 4]

3 hours ago, koneke said:

it's fun because he says that he is so tolerant and wants lots of rapefugees for his country.

Canada picks the best refugees only with very good qualifications.

He's a hypocrite

I was agreeing the man was hot, that doesn't mean I endorse his policies

[Herbert Hoover 199]

5 hours ago, koneke said:

rapefugees

C'mon now... 

@admin_270

[LegolasRedbard 4]

5 hours ago, koneke said:

rapefugees.

 

6 minutes ago, CalebsParadox said:

C'mon now... 

@admin_270

I never noticed that before. Mate that's a bit over the line

[Bruce Fischer 1]

11 minutes ago, LegolasRedbard said:

a bit over the line

This one line sums up koneke perfectly

[LegolasRedbard 4]

Just now, Bruce Fischer said:

This one line sums up koneke perfectly

He should run for leader of his nation and see if the Trump effect works

[jvikings1 40]

Merkel has been a disaster for Germany.  She has totally dropped the ball in terms of the refugee crisis.  She has also pushed for a stronger EU which goes against national sovereignty.  This is a push for a USE (united States of Europe).  Macron has also started to push for more EU powers which I don't think will be accepted in France.

[LegolasRedbard 4]

7 hours ago, jvikings1 said:

Merkel has been a disaster for Germany.  She has totally dropped the ball in terms of the refugee crisis.  She has also pushed for a stronger EU which goes against national sovereignty.  This is a push for a USE (united States of Europe).  Macron has also started to push for more EU powers which I don't think will be accepted in France.

I agree. I like the idea of European countries working together to enhance each other, but it's just a massive juggernaut ruled by corporations. I don't think Merkel intended to screw over Germany by inviting migrants in, she probably thought of it as a noble cause (although it may have something to do with Germany's recent (and not so recent) history), but I think the fact she's using German law to supress "hate speech" (opposition) is worrying and I think voter's will fight back at the ballot box. I dislike Macron though. His insistence on making his cabinet half and half gender wise, and making like half his parliamentary candidates inexperienced in politics is worrying. I would rather have Le Pen and her policies rather than Macron's youth and inexperience

[wolves 29]

On 28/05/2017 at 9:24 PM, Patine said:

However, his tenure has been lackluster and disappointing really. Not horrible or a disaster, I admit, and it's certainly a better alternative to Harper's, just a disappointment. It doesn't even bring out the strong emotions and opinions, however polarized, that his father's did. That's my opinion from Canada, to be frank.

I think a lot of Canadians feel this way, it's another Obama situation, the rest of the world loves him while the people inside the country think hes really amounted to nothing special. (Trudeau still has another two years until 2019 to prove himself though.) He'll probably win reelection anyway due to the tories picking Harperlite.

[RI Democrat 39]

Somewhat "meh" on all three of them.

I was hopeful that Canada was really going to shake up its political system after the NDP had big gains in 2011 (and then took over *Alberta* of all places!), but it seemed like in the end, it partly came down to a "who can beat Harper" strategic vote plus the usual limitations of democratic representation in a first-past-the-post system. And, I guess personality-wise, Trudeau was more appealing than Mulcair. I was actually kind of hoping that Trudeau would win a minority so that he'd still have to work with the NDP or the Greens to get legislation passed.

I don't know that much about Macron, though he seems pretty neoliberal on economics. If I were French, I'd have probably voted for Hamon or Melenchon in the first round. I'd be a little concerned that Melenchon would be a bull in a china shop on the international stage instead of pushing for meaningful progressive reform of institutions like the EU (which is what I think the broad left needs to be doing internationally right now). But maybe he'd have come around to compromising once he actually had to work with other world leaders. In the second round, I'd have held my nose and voted for Macron due to his strong policy of not being Marine LePen.

Merkel I actually disliked, and still do to some extent, for helping to push the drastic austerity measures in the EU. She won me over to some extent by stepping up on the refugee issue even when she knew she'd face a backlash and some of the other European countries weren't being as generous. But she's actually a good example of the kind of internationalist politician that we *don't* need - at best, she represents establishment politics with a human face, and I don't think that's going to cut it in the long term. I think part of the problem with institutions like the EU is that they've become so closely tied to neoliberal capitalism, which makes it easy to stereotype internationalist politicians as out-of-touch elitists, and too many center-left parties seem to have forgotten how to even talk about these issues beyond vaguely championing multiculturalism and peace.

[RI Democrat 39]

(Or at least I assume she knew she'd face a backlash. Maybe it caught her off guard. Either way, she did the right thing and took some political heat over it.)

[RI Democrat 39]

On a related note - if Jeremy Corbyn pulls off the mother of all upsets, will Merkel decide she likes Brexit after all?

[Centrist Emperor Kerzaris 50]

1 minute ago, RI Democrat said:

On a related note - if Jeremy Corbyn pulls off the mother of all upsets, will Merkel decide she likes Brexit after all?

Theresa may - establishment who would certainly win according to the media and pundits.

Jeremy Corbyn- a left populist

 

Hillary Clinton- establishment too, expected to widely win.

Donald Trump- a right populist. 

Am I seeing a pattern?

[Patine 469]

6 hours ago, RI Democrat said:

Somewhat "meh" on all three of them.

I was hopeful that Canada was really going to shake up its political system after the NDP had big gains in 2011 (and then took over *Alberta* of all places!), but it seemed like in the end, it partly came down to a "who can beat Harper" strategic vote plus the usual limitations of democratic representation in a first-past-the-post system. And, I guess personality-wise, Trudeau was more appealing than Mulcair. I was actually kind of hoping that Trudeau would win a minority so that he'd still have to work with the NDP or the Greens to get legislation passed.

As someone from Canada who voted NDP reliably from 2000-2011, I would have loved it - if Mulcair wasn't leader. The death of Layton was tragic, but not just as the death of great leader and politician, but because the party floundered afterwards and the successes he gained in 2011 were squandered. Mulcair is, bar none, the worst Federal NDP/CCF leader in the whole history of the party, and he just killed the momentum as far as I was concerned.

[RI Democrat 39]

21 minutes ago, Patine said:

As someone from Canada who voted NDP reliably from 2000-2011, I would have loved it - if Mulcair wasn't leader. The death of Layton was tragic, but not just as the death of great leader and politician, but because the party floundered afterwards and the successes he gained in 2011 were squandered. Mulcair is, bar none, the worst Federal NDP/CCF leader in the whole history of the party, and he just killed the momentum as far as I was concerned.

I wasn't too impressed with Mulcair based on what I saw from this side of the border. However - and you can correct me if I'm wrong - my impression was that, if nothing else, Mulcair would have had to answer to a party and a parliamentary caucus who were mostly committed to remedying economic inequality and challenging the political consensus, whereas Trudeau's party and caucus probably do not have that same commitment (at least not across the board).

[jvikings1 40]

16 hours ago, LegolasRedbard said:

I agree. I like the idea of European countries working together to enhance each other, but it's just a massive juggernaut ruled by corporations. I don't think Merkel intended to screw over Germany by inviting migrants in, she probably thought of it as a noble cause (although it may have something to do with Germany's recent (and not so recent) history), but I think the fact she's using German law to supress "hate speech" (opposition) is worrying and I think voter's will fight back at the ballot box. I dislike Macron though. His insistence on making his cabinet half and half gender wise, and making like half his parliamentary candidates inexperienced in politics is worrying. I would rather have Le Pen and her policies rather than Macron's youth and inexperience

I don't mind him choosing people that had careers outside of government as candidates, but I agree with your point on insisting on having a half and half (when it comes to gender) cabinet.  The best should be chosen despite their gender.

10 hours ago, RI Democrat said:

Somewhat "meh" on all three of them.

I was hopeful that Canada was really going to shake up its political system after the NDP had big gains in 2011 (and then took over *Alberta* of all places!), but it seemed like in the end, it partly came down to a "who can beat Harper" strategic vote plus the usual limitations of democratic representation in a first-past-the-post system. And, I guess personality-wise, Trudeau was more appealing than Mulcair. I was actually kind of hoping that Trudeau would win a minority so that he'd still have to work with the NDP or the Greens to get legislation passed.

I don't know that much about Macron, though he seems pretty neoliberal on economics. If I were French, I'd have probably voted for Hamon or Melenchon in the first round. I'd be a little concerned that Melenchon would be a bull in a china shop on the international stage instead of pushing for meaningful progressive reform of institutions like the EU (which is what I think the broad left needs to be doing internationally right now). But maybe he'd have come around to compromising once he actually had to work with other world leaders. In the second round, I'd have held my nose and voted for Macron due to his strong policy of not being Marine LePen.

Merkel I actually disliked, and still do to some extent, for helping to push the drastic austerity measures in the EU. She won me over to some extent by stepping up on the refugee issue even when she knew she'd face a backlash and some of the other European countries weren't being as generous. But she's actually a good example of the kind of internationalist politician that we *don't* need - at best, she represents establishment politics with a human face, and I don't think that's going to cut it in the long term. I think part of the problem with institutions like the EU is that they've become so closely tied to neoliberal capitalism, which makes it easy to stereotype internationalist politicians as out-of-touch elitists, and too many center-left parties seem to have forgotten how to even talk about these issues beyond vaguely championing multiculturalism and peace.

We see how her refugee policy is working out for Germany.

[RI Democrat 39]

What is the alternative for people advocating this "hard line" on refugees? I mean, we can't send them back into the middle of a war zone. Do they just stay in refugee camps indefinitely?