As we commemorate the thousands of our countrymen and countrywomen who have given their lives or served in the nation’s armed forces, at home and overseas, there are haunting signs of the 1930s this Anzac Day.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin is doing his best to emulate Hitler, European nations are wondering how to deal with another modern-day authoritarian dictator, and Donald Trump has abandoned the US leadership role to become a curious amalgam of 1930s America and the British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, isolationist and great appeaser at one.

Diggers march on Anzac Day last year.Credit: Chris Hopkins

In such circumstances it’s little wonder that, while they argue over defence spending, both the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Richard Marles, and Opposition Leader

© The Sydney Morning Herald