Trudeau cutting nose off to spite face

These are not easy days for embattled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They are not only what he called his Liberal Party's "toughest days", but also his own. From within his own party and Canada's opposition parties, he has heard louder calls for his resignation.

At home, his approval rating has reportedly plummeted from the 63 percent he enjoyed when he was first elected in 2015 to 26 percent this month. The abrupt resignation of his Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland on Monday only made things uglier. The departure of Freeland, a key ally, not only dealt a heavy blow to Trudeau's political survival, which was already in the balance, but, perhaps more importantly, revealed the divisive potential of the subject of how to cope with the imminent second term of Donald Trump as leader of neighboring United States.

It certainly is not all about the US president-elect. But just as Deputy Prime Minister Freeland disclosed in her resignation letter, Trump was at least a significant trigger. As one observer put it, Trump's reelection in November has caused a split among US allies. What happens in Canada is only a footnote to that fissure.