Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko opines on prospects of electing female president in Belarus

MINSK, 14 November (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has been asked by journalists whether a woman can be president in Belarus, BelTA reports.

Aleksandr Lukashenko replied: “I have already told you that presidents are not made, presidents are born.”

“A person should have certain innate qualities to run a country. There are many of them. [An aspiring president should have] one, two, or maybe all of them. This is very important,” the president said.

To illustrate his point, the head of state recalled the recent election in the United States where a woman ran for president. The methods of campaigning are totally different there. In particular, there were very harsh, even offensive words addressed to the female candidate. Aleksandr Lukashenko said that if someone in Belarus acted in such a way, they would lose a significant part of voters.

“But this is probably normal for American society. They held their election. I had said before the election: America is ready for a black president (there was a black president there, indeed), but probably not ready for a female president,” the head of state noted.

In his opinion, Kamala Harris lost the election largely due to the decisions of the Democratic Party and Joe Biden. “They knew what they were doing; there was no need to set Kamala up. She did what she could - she campaigned, faced all sorts of bullying, pushed the Democratic Party forward,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko. He believes that the Democratic Party could have nominated other, stronger candidates. “The Democratic Party had good candidates, they could have nominated those whom Trump would not be able to handle,” he noted.

But now that the outcomes of the US election and the name of the winner of the presidential race are already known, it is important that Donald Trump fulfills his campaign promises, Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized. “In America, it's easy not to keep your promises. It is common everywhere now, but it is par for the course with them. But he is a seasoned person, like a bulldozer. He can dig in his heels and... Hopefully, it will not affect the whole world negatively. Because it is the leading economy, the leading country, a monopolist in all respects, including in politics. He should not get carried away. Donald has this trait - he can go too far. I would really like him to make America great without harming us, without harming the entire world, and without clashing with Russia, China and everyone else. We have to be very careful. I think that the first term [of Trump's presidency] taught him this,” the Belarusian leader said.

Speaking about the prospects of electing a female president in Belarus, the head of state noted that this is a very difficult type of work, as it involves not only representative or protocol functions. In Belarus, the president is the commander-in-chief. “The US president does not have the same powers as the Russian or Belarusian president who has to delve into everything, to make sure that everyone has food on the table ... This is a very difficult job,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

“You should not put such a burden on a woman. This is not a ceremonial position here,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

“Maybe, time will come for us to embrace the same style fo work [like in the USA]. But it is different for now. This is not a woman’s thing. A woman should remain a woman. Therefore, a woman should not be burdened with such powers, such responsibilities. As long as Belarus has women’s presidents, let men do the top job, why burden women with that?” the president asked.

“We should not shift our responsibilities to women. I bow before women, I do not belittle their role in any way. But they should be there by our side so that we can lean on their strong shoulder,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.

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