Photo: Matt Rourke/AP
Donald Trump’s influence on politics outside the United States is becoming increasingly visible – but mixed. While in Canada and Australia, parties that were guided by MAGA (Make America Great Again) rhetoric were punished by voters, in Romania and the UK, candidates with pro-Republican views are gaining ground. This is stated in the analytical material of The New York Times.
In Canada and Australia, where elections were held recently, centrist governments won, while conservatives who were guided by Trump’s style suffered a crushing defeat – their leaders lost not only the elections but also their seats in parliament.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ran an openly anti-Trump campaign, criticising pressure from Washington, while his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, was cautious. Nevertheless, both leaders won, relying on an electorate concerned about aggressive US rhetoric.
Instead, in Romania, a breakthrough in the elections was made by George Simion, the leader of the right-wing radical movement AUR and an open supporter of Trump, who even borrowed his slogan, promising to “make Romania great again”. In the first round of the presidential election, he came out on top, contrary to the trend in other Western democracies.
“Romania and Poland are strategic partners of the United States. That’s why MAGA presidents should lead in Bucharest and Warsaw,” Simion said, hinting at a pro-republican orientation.
In Poland, the situation is similar: nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki publicly met with Trump in an attempt to use his influence in the run-up to the 18 May election.
In Germany, Trump’s influence is more indirect. Despite the sympathy of MAGA leaders for the far-right AfD, this party has not achieved a breakthrough. Instead, the new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is using concerns about European guarantees to the United States to promote his own economic initiatives.
In the UK, however, the situation is controversial: although Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially established ties with the White House, his party recently suffered serious losses in local elections. Meanwhile, the populist Reform Party, led by Trump ally Nigel Farage, is gaining momentum.
Thus, the Trump effect appears to be fragmented: in developed democracies of the Western Hemisphere, his imitation is more likely to harm politicians, while in Eastern Europe it gives them an additional impetus.
