As the free world commemorates the 75th anniversary of D-Day, one of the most memorable speeches came from the Queen at the US State Banquet on Monday night. Standing next to President Trump, it was as close as any leader got to even gently chastising him about his priorities. The Tory leadership wannabees in particular had their heads too much up his firmament to try and influence his opinions. It is worth quoting the relevant paragraph from Her Majesty in full:
“As we face the new challenges of the Twenty First Century, the anniversary of D-Day reminds us of all that our countries have achieved together. After the shared sacrifices of the Second World War, Britain and the United States worked with other allies to build an assembly of international institutions, to ensure that the horrors of conflict would never be repeated. While the world has changed, we are forever mindful of the original purpose of these structures: nations working together to safeguard a hard won peace.”
So, which are these international institutions? The UN, NATO and the EU, all loathed by Trump and his administration in favour of dictators who ignore international norms such as Putin, Xi and Kim Jong-un. You can add to ‘institutions’ those international agreements relating to climate change and Iran too.
Of course, it is sensible to ask countries to pay their fair share on defence, to challenge corruption in the UN and challenge restrictive trade practices within the EU, but not pull the rug from under them. The alternative is a world of competing individual nation states, each focused solely on putting their own interests first. That route leads to hostilities and war. This is the philosophy of the Alt. Right, of Trump and, as we understand it, partly the philosophy of the likely next leader of the Conservative Party in the UK.
Nearly all the major issues facing the global community are cross-border ones, whether it is economic, climate or defence related. As the technological revolution gains speed, so globalisation speeds up too. It is not going to go away and Trump’s many erratic America First impulses are no solution.
Size also matters. Here in the UK, for example, do we really think, on our own, we can influence trade when we are a little over 3% of global exports? Do we really think we can influence the global economy when we are 2.4% of global GDP? Do we really think we can influence defence related matters when we have less than 100,000 soldiers and four nuclear submarines reliant on US technology? These international institutions matter, not least the EU.
There is one aspect, however, where size doesn’t matter, where the UK is unique. It is the presence of the Royal Family. I am not a particular royalist but watching them massage the ego of Trump whilst reminding him of the legitimacy of international institutions was quite special. It put our current crop of cringing politicians in government to shame.
Inside Right Politics 