As many Canadians tuned into Gerald Butt’s testimony on the SNC-Lavalin affair Wednesday — eyes across the world also seem to be watching the controversy unfold.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s former principal secretary testified before the Commons justice committee, defending the Prime Minister Office’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin case. It came almost a week after former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould testified, saying she faced political pressure from Trudeau’s party to prevent SNC-Lavalin from facing a criminal trial.
READ MORE: Gerald Butts says ‘grey area’ between political staff, Wilson-Raybould on SNC-Lavalin affair
The controversy has created a political frenzy in Canada, and even from the international community. From the Washington Post, the BBC to the Le Monde, many media outlets are questioning if Trudeau’s party will survive October’s federal election.
Here are a few headlines from around the world.
The New York Times: ‘Oh, Trudeau’
The New York Times published an op-ed Tuesday called ‘Oh, Trudeau.’ The paper’s editorial board looks at how the SNC-Lavalin affair will rock the Trudeau government seven months before Canada’s next election.
It examined how Trudeau came to office in 2015 “by the high road” with a cabinet filled with women and minorities and a willingness to open Canada’s doors to immigrants.
“But in politics the fresher the face, the more obvious the blemishes,” the op-stated.
READ MORE: Trudeau’s 2015 gender-equal cabinet makes headlines around world, social media
“Looked at from south of the Canadian border, the entire matter may seem trivial alongside any of the many accusations levied at President Trump, or of the pressures routinely applied by politicians on behalf of powerful companies.
“But in Canada, the tangled SNC-Lavalin affair is unavoidably measured against the expectations Mr. Trudeau raised and the standards he set. For him to be accused by two prominent women from his team of violating the high ethical bar he himself set is a major blow, at the least to his brand.”
WATCH: New poll could be trouble for Trudeau
Fox News: ‘Hyprocite Justin Trudeau caught doing what he accuses Trump of doing’
On Monday, Fox News published an opinion piece called, “Hyprocite Justin Trudeau caught doing what he accuses Trump of doing.” The piece looks at how Trudeau has handled the SNC-Lavalin controversy with a comparison to U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Forget the faux-scandals about Trump. There’s a real scandal in our holier-than-thou northern neighbor,” states the article on the U.S. network’s web site.
“After all the preening and moralizing from Trudeau and members of his cabinet, after all their smirks about the Trump administration, it’s nice to see their hypocrisy exposed to all the world by a brave lady.”
Washington Post: ‘Justin Trudeau’s rise to power seemed charmed. Now he faces a fight for his political life’
The Washington Post published a news story Tuesday, titled “Justin Trudeau’s rise to power seemed charmed. Now he faces a fight for his political life.”
The article looks into the prime minister’s rise to power as a “press-whispering, selfie-snapping progressive icon who promised transparency and went viral for promoting women.”
But amid the SNC-Lavalin scandal, the article questions whether Trudeau will hold on to his majority government in the upcoming election.
“Whatever happens, Trudeau’s rock star status seems like a thing of the past.”
WATCH: Andrew Scheer calls on Justin Trudeau to resign as prime minister
Foreign Policy: ‘Canada’s Golden Boy Loses His Shine’
Global media outlet Foreign Policy published a story by Ottawa-based journalist Justin Ling called “Canada’s Golden Boy Loses His Shine” that looks at how Trudeau is facing the “most tumultuous moment of his political career.”
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has had a relatively smooth four years in office. Most of his scandals and controversies were insignificant, forgettable, or easily spun — like when he accepted a helicopter ride from the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims, which violated parliamentary ethics rules. But this affair won’t be so easily smoothed over,” stated the story, published Monday.
“Trudeau is now playing defense,” the U.S.-based publication says. “The prime minister is already down a justice minister, his treasury board minister, and a right-hand man. If the bleeding continues, Trudeau may find himself retracing his father’s footsteps in the snow.”
BBC: ‘Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould: The crisis that could unseat Canada’s PM’
On Monday, the BBC published an explainer piece called “Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould: The crisis that could unseat Canada’s PM.”
“Trudeau’s longtime friend and principal secretary Gerald Butts has already resigned. Many speculate that other top officials that Wilson-Raybould named may follow.”
“That seems unlikely, but what is likely – at least according to columnist Chantal Hebert and other political pundits – is that ‘the Liberals will likely go in the fall election campaign with the SNC-Lavalin albatross still hanging around their party’s neck’.”
WATCH: Canadians will ‘have a choice’ in 2019 election, Morneau says
CNN: ‘Trudeau: Crisis deepens as second minister quits’
CNN dove into the SNC-Lavalin scandal Tuesday, with an article called, “Trudeau: Crisis deepens as second minister quits.”
The article states that the controversy threatens to engulf Trudeau’s Liberal party ahead of the federal election. It also mentions that the SNC-Lavalin affair comes at “an unfortunate time” for Trudeau, who is currently facing a full-blown diplomatic crisis with China amid the Huawei spat.
The Guardian: ‘The scandal that could bring down Justin Trudeau’
The Guardian published an explainer video Monday, which looks at how Trudeau’s Liberal party could be brought down amid the SNC-Lavalin case.
Australian Broadcasting Corp: ‘Justin Trudeau, the internet’s favourite Prime Minister, finds himself mixed up in a scandal’
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. published a piece Feb. 15 that questioned if Trudeau will be able to overcome the SNC-Lavalin scandal before the October election.
“He’s starred in countless memes and viral videos, but this week Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau found himself cast in a less comfortable role: the subject of a scandal that could damage his Government during an election year,” the article stated.
Le Monde: ‘In Canada, Justin Trudeau experiences an unprecedented political crisis’
French newspaper Le Monde, published an article Tuesday called “In Canada, Justin Trudeau experiences an unprecedented political crisis,” examining the Liberal’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair and calling it an “unprecedented” political crisis that is shaking Trudeau.
“The blow is hard for Mr. Trudeau, less than seven months ahead of legislative elections,” the story stated.
Al Jazeera: ‘Rule of Law in the Trudeau era’
On Feb. 18, Al Jazzera published an op-ed by Canadian journalist Andrew Mitrovica that looks into how the SNC-Lavalin scandal could destroy the Liberal Party.
The piece said after the 2015 election, Trudeau’s government talked about “transparency,” “feminism,” “equality” and the “rule of law.”
WATCH: ‘We are a country of rule and law’ Trudeau on Meng extradition
“Now Canadians have learned that translates into mostly white, male, unelected officials who make up Trudeau’s inner orbit — known as the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) — using their power reportedly to ‘pressure’ the country’s first female Indigenous justice minister to let a big, powerful, scandal-plagued, Quebec-based engineering company off the criminal hook,” the article stated.
“The veil has slipped and Trudeau et al may be headed back to the gulag come the next general election in October.”
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