“O Canada!”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressing the European Parliament with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney on the right (photograph by Jean-Christophe Verhaegen for Agence France-Presse, from an Al Jazeera Web page)

Some readers may recall that this past Saturday I wrote about United States President Donald Trump’s approach to diplomacy in an article entitled “How to Lose Friends.” This morning Al Jazeera created a Web page with the title “EU chief von der Leyen proposes ‘associate member’ status for Canada,” drawing upon sources from both Agence France-Presse and Reuters. That title is immediately clarified in the opening sentence: “European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has raised the prospect of Canada becoming the 27-nation European Union’s first ‘associate member’, a striking overture as both seek to pivot away from a hostile United States under President Donald Trump.” It ultimately concludes with von der Leyen having the last word:

We believe that power does not belong to the strongest, the richest or the loudest – but to all of us. That democracies have the freedom to choose with whom to work. So, we are joining forces [with Canada] voluntarily.

Now, to be fair, when I was in high school I was taught that our government was a republic, rather than a democracy. Much of what I learned about American History involved the difference between these two concepts and why that difference matters. Nevertheless, it would be fair to say that democratic freedom of choice has always played a strong role in our country’s approach to governance. In a little over a month, the electoral process may involve major changes in the House of Representatives and perhaps also in the Senate. This may result in a decrease of “harmony” between the Legislative and Executive branches. Put in other words, Trump may confront a major reduction in what he has taken to be “free rein.”

How he will respond to this reduction will be anybody’s guess. Personally, I am hoping that the Constitution will have the last word. I hope I am not being too optimistic about what the future may bring!