Donald Trump’s win makes it all the more important for us to stay close to our European allies. We should rethink Brexit, not suck up to America.
It is therefore a shame that Boris Johnson is boycotting a special meeting today with other EU foreign ministers to discuss Trump’s victory. He told his EU counterparts to end the “whinge-o-rama” over the result of the presidential race.
It is never good to suck up to a bully. Quite apart from the fact that our pride will suffer from putting ourselves in a subservient position – hardly taking back control – making ourselves depending on the whims of a man who is prone to wild emotional swings could be risky.
We need good relations with America. But we will be more able to stand tall in the world if we deepen our strategic relations with Europe. After all, we could be first among equals in EU foreign and security policy if we weren’t planning to quit.
Trump’s election could destabilise our already dangerous neighbourhood. The president-elect is fond of Vladimir Putin – telling the WSJ the Russian president had sent him a “beautiful letter”. He also signalled he would abandon any attempt to oust Bashar al-Assad – saying if the US attacks the Syrian president, “we end up fighting Russia, fighting Syria.” Putin and Assad will be popping the champagne corks.
Trump’s scepticism about NATO is a further worry. On Remembrance Sunday, we must not take our security for granted, as NATO’s secretary general wrote today in the Observer.
The response to Trump’s victory must not be to turn our back on America. We need it as an ally. We must hope the president-elect changes his tune about NATO’s importance.
But we must also recognise that Europe’s nations will need to work more closely to secure our vital interests in the coming years and decades, as we may no longer be able to rely on big brother America to protect us. We must therefore push our European allies to step up their investment in defence in line with their commitment to spend 2% of GDP.
We don’t need a European army. But we do need to craft a European foreign policy. When European nations and America can rally behind a common position – as they did on sanctions against Iran and Russia – they can have a positive impact. When they are divided – as they were over Iraq, Libya and Syria – the result is chaos.
All these are things that the EU’s foreign ministers will be discussing today. What a shame that Johnson won’t be there. If we quit the EU, we won’t even be invited to these meetings.
Johnson told EU foreign ministers at his first meeting with them in July that: “We are not going to be in any way abandoning our leading role in European cooperation and participation of all kinds.”
It always seemed pie in the sky that we could maintain our influence in Europe post-Brexit. Trump’s election makes it all the more important for us to stay close to Europe. It’s yet another reason to question whether Brexit makes sense.
Hugo Dixon is co-founder of CommonGround as well as editor-in-chief of InFacts. You can sign up as a supporter here.
Whatever Johnson does it only has the interests of his own selfish career at heart. The interests of the nation don’t get a look in. Never in my lifetime have Britain’s foreign affairs been entrusted to a thoroughly dishonest and totally corrupt egotistical political cretin, and very mediocre politician at that.
Well spoken, many thanks for that. Johnson’s being invested with the foreign office was a one-finger salute to the rest of the world, no matter what way one looks at it. If anything is going to sink the UK’s chances of limiting the Brexit damage it’s this selfish infantile.
Looking on the positive side – the less other countries and their representatives see of Johnson the better Britain’s standing with them is likely to be.
Mrs May has only just told the EU Heads of Government that the UK wants to play a full part in EU affairs until it leaves. Now our Foreign Secretary doesn’t think it worth his time to discuss the implications for Europe, the EU and its member states of the election of a US President whose campaign called in question the post war western consensus of mutual defence; tolerance and opposition to all forms of racism; and free trade in place of protectionism. Is there really nothing worthy of discussion in this turn of events?
Boris Johnson once again demonstrates his complete incompetence as Foreign Secretary. He has no diplomatic skills at all and one’s wonders how long he can continue in that role before the PM is obliged to replace him. He gratuitously upsets his counterparts in Europe and elsewhere and will soon be persona non grata in the different fora in which he has to operate if he is not such already.
Far from facilitating a ” soft Brexit ” , the people with whom he is going to have to deal with in the EU, I’m sure, must have an overwhelming desire to punch him on the nose.
Interestingly enough, Boris has already demonstrated his complete unsuitability for any senior government post. Gove obviously knew his man well enough !
Johnson was a known risk from the word go, but he nevertheless got the foreign office. As much as Trump is not certain of seeing his first year out as the president of the US (some 75 court cases running against him, a number related to financial irregularities) in all honesty the present bunch of turncoats in the U.K. Government might not survive the coming elections. My main worry now is the hardening anti-UK stance noticeable at the Continent. Even if at the last minute the U.K. Would decide to not leave the EU the road back to normal could be anything but easy.
If the EU is serious about discussing Trump, all they have to do is arrange for my transport and if necessary accommodation on a date convenient for me, and I will speak on behalf of UK.