Putin not fit to be world leader, but fortunately we have Xi Jinping
Re: “Is Trump morally and mentally fit to be a world leader”, Have Your Say, yesterday.
My mother, who was of Dutch descent, taught me a wonderful saying. “Soort soek soort” can be translated as “like for like”. It means, roughly, that in life you are judged by the friends you keep. A list of Vladimir Putin’s friends would run as follows:
1. Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
2. The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran.
3. Kim Jong-un of North Korea.
Birds of a feather flock together. And so too dictators, apparently.
We could add Xi Jinping of China to the list of Putin’s pals, although he doesn’t fit the same mould as the previous three. While I am no fan of communist governments, the Chinese regime has lifted millions of its people out of poverty. It deserves at pat on the back for that historic feat. It has undeniably worked for its people, unlike most governments, which work for themselves – especially where I come from.
Alf Haupt
Chon Buri
