Rule number one in "wielding influence" is that you need to have some before you can wield it.
Baird is baffled by his failure to quash a Russian law that is a step backwards for gay rights in Russia, and came out with the kind of bombastic attack he has become famous for.
According to Baird, he or his department held no less than eight meetings with their Russian counterparts since January trying to derail the proposed law, to no avail.
In the course of holding all those meetings, Baird found time to visit some of Canada's staunchest allies in the Gulf region. There is no record of Baird having used his influence to sway the anti-democratic leaders he visited in Bahrain, Qatar, or UAE away from the draconian anti-gay legislation in place in those countries, nor did he make any statements "blasting" our allies for their short-comings in the area of human rights.
The Russians may have gotten the impression they were dealing with a buffoon and a hypocrite.
No comments:
Post a Comment