In London, policymakers are now debating the existential question: How can their empire continue when the post-war “special association” [sic] forged by Winston Churchill with the United States is “being vaporized in front of our eyes,” in the words of former British Foreign Office Minister of State, now CEO of the U.K.’s Canning House, Jeremy Browne.
General agreement appears to have settled on the urgency of the U.K. seizing the leadership of Europe, rallying it behind a military build-up preparatory for war against Russia. The Economist piece is most blunt. But there is that worry, will any of this work?
Chatham House Director Bronwen Maddox and a cohort argue that the U.K., as “one of Europe’s few full-spectrum military powers"—meaning nuclear-armed—should step in as the leader of the defense of Ukraine and Europe. Financing the required military buildup won’t be so easy, what with the political difficulties of cutting social costs, but “London is already proving a magnet for many early-stage informal conversations whether this might be done with defense bonds, defense development banks, pooled borrowing or other schemes,” they report.
Maddox and team imagine that Keith Starmer has some sway in Washington, so that the U.K. could perhaps serve as a “bridge” between Europe and the U.S., only then to sigh, that “the U.K. may have to choose between the U.S. and Europe at some point.”
The angst in BBC’s Feb. 20 report on “the huge risks facing Starmer” when he meets Trump in Washington next Thursday, Feb. 27 however, is downright funny.
BBC worries: “Transatlantic relations are in pieces…. It is into this cauldron of ideological enmity that Sir Keir will seek a hearing when he meets the president and his team at the White House.” Here is some of their advice:
First laugh: BBC writes that Sir Keir has an advantage because he “is one of the few European leaders who will stay in power throughout his presidency”!
Second laugh: BBC cites the advice of Lord Darroch, the former U.K. ambassador to Washington whom President Trump threw out in his first administration, on how Starmer should suggest Trump get “a better deal” by adopting British tactics with Russia!
Third laugh: BBC concludes by citing an unnamed official: “We are living in a U.S. presidency which is based on great power diplomacy. If we can work within that, fine. If not, God help us.”
