Two prime ministers, one strategic dilemma

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, could hardly be more different.

But forces well beyond their control — forces Carney described as predatory “hegemons” — have brought them into lockstep.

Both leaders are now grappling with a Donald Trump-led Washington that is torching the international order, while trying to prevent China from filling the vacuum.

Albanese has built his political identity around his working-class upbringing in social housing, and his entire 40-year career has unfolded within the Labor Party.