The optimistic and “relieved” planet

“Day of hope,” Quebec Premier François Legault wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. Leaders around the world, with few exceptions, have responded with optimism to Joe Biden’s nomination, with some even hailing a return to “common sense.” Four years ago, the swearing-in day sparked anti-Trump protests from Montreal to Berlin via Mexico City. On Wednesday, the planet was content with a sigh of relief, confinement requires.

Trudeau will be the first called

Joe Biden will drop his first phone call as President of the United States to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, illustrating the close bond between Canada and its neighbor.

The phone interview will take place on Friday, Mr. Biden’s first with a foreign leader, the White House spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Mr. Trudeau had also said “impatient to work with President Biden” in order to “seek to make our countries more secure, more prosperous and more resilient”.

However, he said he was “disappointed” with the decision of the Biden administration to block the Keystone XL pipeline.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has been more incisive in demanding economic sanctions against Washington.

For his part, Mr. Legault warmly congratulated Vice-President Kamala Harris, recalling that she had grown up in Montreal and that she was always welcome there.

“Congratulations to President Joe Biden […]. We will continue to work to make our relationship flourish and to make Quebec the green battery of Northeast America, ”he tweeted.

– With the QMI Agency

Allies who are once again “friends” with the United States

“That allies speak of” relief “, I think that says a lot”, interprets the researcher at the Raoul-Dandurand Chair Julien Tourreille.

In diplomatic relations, the speeches are often hushed. But several traditional allies of the United States did not hide their joy at seeing the untimely Donald Trump leave the White House.

The head of German diplomacy, Heiko Mass, said he was “happy, naturally, that he left”.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, meanwhile, expressed “his great relief”, while Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke of her “haste” to open a “new chapter”.

The European Union has “a friend again at home-
White after four long years, ”said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, considered that it was “time to return to convictions, to common sense, and to modernize our relationship”.

For Mr. Tourreille, it is not surprising that these leaders are satisfied to find an American interlocutor who “respects diplomatic customs”, who has “moderate and pragmatic positions”.

In the evening, the Mexican government welcomed the suspension of the construction of a wall on its border with the United States decreed by Joe Biden.

For his part, the South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, architect of the rapprochement between the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and Trump, congratulated Biden by proclaiming on Twitter: “America is back”.

– With AFP

The less happy

The looming standoff between the United States and China was already palpable on Wednesday, despite the departure of Donald Trump who repeatedly called COVID-19 a “Chinese virus”.

Beijing on Wednesday announced sanctions against around 30 former Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for violating his “sovereignty”. Beijing accuses him in particular of having qualified as “genocide” the way in which China treats its Uyghur population.

However, everything suggests that the Biden administration will be even firmer with China, this subject being one of the few on which Democrats and Republicans agree, explains researcher Julien Tourreille. Mr. Biden will also have to use tact in his relations with Iran on the nuclear issue, even if Tehran welcomed the departure of “tyrant” Donald Trump on Wednesday.

As for Russia, the Kremlin said improving their relationship would depend on Biden’s “political will”.

– With AFP