Invoking Vaclav Havel, he said it was time to stop pretending that what the western powers called a rules-based order was not a self-serving sham.
“Great powers can afford, for now, to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity and the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not. But when we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemon, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what’s offered. We compete with each other to be the most accommodating,” he said
“Being a happy vassal is one thing, being a miserable slave is something else,” he said.
“If you back down now, you’re going to lose your dignity, and that’s probably the most precious thing you can have in a democracy, it’s your dignity.”
Indeed a great speech… hopefully it’s not just words
Here is a version with better quality audio
Carney has always spoken like this when dealing with chaotic situations. He did when he led the Bank of Canada during the '08 financial crisis and again during Brexit when he led the Bank of England.
He doesn’t lie or use platitudes when speaking on important issues … which is why Canadians are hopeful we can survive the current maelstrom.
We really need to be strong in this. When Trump starts to turn his attention to Canada again, I want all of Europe to back up Canada the same way Canada backed up Greenland. We can’t let this shit keep going.