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Donald Trump’s presidency has often confused allies in Europe and now his refusal to acknowledge electoral losers is steaming the water in the domestic politics of some European Union (EU) member states.
Estonian Interior Minister Mart Helme resigned on Monday, and his son Martin, acting Finance Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister, was pressured to resign after both politicians strongly supported Trump’s baseless allegations of fraudulent elections.
Some Estonian officials said the blink of an eye could even lead to the collapse of the ruling coalition.
Martas Helmet
© DELFI.ee
In Slovenia, meanwhile, Prime Minister Janez Janša continues to spread conspiracy theories in favor of Trump. He even wrote on Twitter that Pfizer had deliberately not previously disclosed good news about developing a coronavirus vaccine to undermine Trump’s election campaign.
Slovenian President Borut Pahor and other officials came to the rescue when anti-immigration populist Janša prematurely declared Trump the winner and later criticized the US media for naming Joe Biden the winner without the country’s courts investigating the Trump campaign team. complaints.
The Slovenian Janez Lenarčič, the EU commissioner in charge of crisis management, has accused Janša of deteriorating relations.
“People in the highest positions must understand that words spoken in public, even on social platforms like Twitter, resonate and must be treated with caution,” Lenarčičius said in an interview. “I am afraid that some of the messages on Twitter did not contribute to the creation of a positive image of Slovenia in Brussels or Washington.”
Janezas Janša
The political tensions in Estonia and Slovenia are the most glaring example of the difficulties and anxiety that Trump caused by failing to acknowledge the victory of the Democratic candidate, former Vice President Biden.
Former US allies were left with an awkward choice: forget diplomatic protocol and congratulate Biden on the final results, or support Trump’s frenzied theories and illogical accusations of widespread election results.
Trump argued that there were vote counting irregularities, despite the results of many other Republican Congressional candidates, who were completely out of line with poll-based predictions predicting a landslide Democratic victory.
In addition, the current president has spoken of fraud even in states like Georgia and Arizona, whose governors are Republicans. Most of the initial legal arguments for the Trump campaign simply collapsed.
His allegations of vote counterfeiting, on the other hand, provided an excellent opportunity for longtime critics of American and Western democracies, such as Russia, to touch and instill passion.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said the Russian leader would not welcome Biden because “legal proceedings are still ongoing” and would prefer to wait for the final results.
Putin’s refusal to acknowledge the results of the American elections was very different from his behavior when the voting results in Belarus became clear. Putin did not raise suspicions in the elections, which were declared illegal in many countries, and immediately congratulated the dictator Aliaksandr Lukashenko.
Meanwhile, the head of Russia’s central electoral commission, Ela Pamfilova, decided to put salt on the wound and told the Tass news agency that Russia has banned voting by mail, although it is allowed by law, precisely because US elections have shown that voting by mail “opens up many possible voices.” counterfeiting ”.
Coverage
Trump’s decision not to admit defeat led several European leaders who supported him to make cautious statements. Polish President Andrzej Duda congratulated Biden on a “successful presidential campaign” but added: “Pending the election of the president by the College of Electors, Poland is committed to maintaining a high-level and high-quality strategic partnership between Poland and the United States “.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who publicly supported Trump in the elections, congratulated Biden a day later than many of his EU colleagues.
“Let me congratulate you on a successful presidential campaign. I wish him health and continued success in his very important mission, “Orban told the state news agency MTI.
There has been widespread speculation in the UK about what Trump’s defeat would mean for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had friendly relations with him, and for the future of the country, given Biden’s Irish origins and his opposition to Brexit.
Even some EU leaders who clearly supported Biden were uncomfortable and congratulated the winner on the controversial results.
A senior EU official noted that European Council President Charles Michel had worked with capitals to coordinate his congratulatory messages “when the results in Pennsylvania became clear, showing respect for the electoral process.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel appears to have spoken on behalf of much of the EU and said on Monday that Germany was eager to start working with Biden. The woman praised Biden’s “many years of experience in domestic and foreign policy” and emphasized that “he had a good knowledge of German and European affairs” and added: “I remember pleasant encounters and conversations with him. The United States and Germany, as part of the European Union, must work together to bravely face the challenges of our time. “
The shame of Estonia
Recognition of the importance of relations with Washington has only increased controversy and tension in tiny Estonia, which has long relied heavily on NATO and the United States as the most powerful member of the alliance when it comes to security guarantees.
The father and son, who belong to the far-right Conservative People’s Party, have angered many other Estonian politicians by expressing support for Trump’s remarks in a radio interview on Sunday.
“In my opinion, there is absolutely no doubt that the choice was rigged,” Martin Helme said during the TRE show. – I think all normal people should voice their opposition. What good is talking about democracy or the rule of law if elections can be so rude and blatantly rigged on a grand scale? “.
Mart Helme resigned Monday morning, accusing the media of “slander and lies,” the ERR news agency reported. His son served as Minister of Finance.
Estonian MEP Urmas Paet said that if young Helme did not resign, the government could collapse.
“Getting so much attention is a huge failure,” he said in an interview.
“This party and, of course, these ministers belong to the same political family as most radical right-wing parties in Europe. In addition, they include fans of Donald Trump, added the MEP.” They have always been big fans of Donald Trump, so he has always publicly supported any action by Trump in recent years. “
Mr. Paet argued that the far-right party also supported a homophobic approach and that the comments were particularly disappointing, as Mr. Biden was strongly in favor of Estonia’s accession to NATO.
“Of course, they understand that the opinion that is expressed is not the one that prevails in the country, but on the other hand, these politicians and their party are still in government,” he explained. – In appreciation, Estonia awarded Biden the highest award. I would like to tell the rest of the world: the words of these politicians are shameful and wrong. “
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