In 2020 there was every chance that the corrupt, creepy, racist, traitorous, self-serving orange menace who praised white supremacists, locked babies in cages on the Mexican border and hosted the actors of a rogue nation in the Oval Office (among other things) would win a second term.
Biden was far from the darling of the left, or even
left of centre but I struggled then to imagine another candidate who could secure
Democratic votes and also garner sufficient wiggle room with moderate
Republicans to prevail in autumn 2020 and even then it was horribly tight.
Far away in Ukraine and despite Boris de-Brexit Johnson
sneering at warnings of the threat of Russian tanks crossing into Ukraine –
they did. Boris de-Brexit Johnson did an about turn from partying with Russian
Oligarchs, taking their money, meeting with them against the advice of British
Secret Services and even gifting a peerage to Lebedev and was subsequently
never out of Ukraine taking photo opportunities. As Putin wreaked havoc it was
just another ego trip for our Brexit wrecking ball.
In Ukraine – though you wouldn’t know it from the
level of media and public attention – Zelensky and his armies have not only
held but repelled the might of Russia. Unthinkably, on Armistice Day came the
news that the strategically significant port city of Kherson, recently declared
by Putin to be “Russian forever” had been freed. Though the cost in human
suffering has been truly appalling.
I sincerely hope President Joe Biden does not run
for president in 2024. I sincerely hope that Zelensky’s days as leader of an
army will end soon and he can return to being a peace-time leader and begin,
with the world’s help, rebuilding Ukraine. I sincerely hope we can turn out
attention to other long running conflicts that must be resolved and most of all
pay attention to the number one priority – the climate.
But make no mistake – while millions of eyes are
trained on dirty sport in Qatar paying less than lip service to human rights, while
the media overflows with celebrity nonsense, royal guff and the lunatic actions
of billionaires – these two extraordinary men in their very different ways – held
and hold the line for the rest of us.
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