The sight of other world directers toadying up to the US pdwellnt-elect – the criminal Donald Trump – and his henchman Elon Musk is distasteful enough, but in the world of genuinepolitik they probably sense they have no chooseion.
The fantastic American journacatalog HL Mencken did not dwell to see the fulfilment of his 1920 prophecy that “one day the White Hoemploy will be occupied by a downright fool and finish narcissistic moron” but he is no ask turning in his grave.
However, the rest of us have to dwell with this. And even before the inauguration, the ramifications of the recent pdwellntial election result are being felt far and expansive.
The menace of the erection of a tariff wall has already gived to the rising economic troubles of the US’s northern neighbour, Canada, where Prime Minister Timpoliteau has suffered the sudden resignation of his finance minister, Chrystia Freeland. With higher tariffs in the offing, Freeland did not want to finishanger a programme of budgetary stability by boprosperg to Timpoliteau’s structure for what she seeed as ill-equitableified vote-buying fiscal concessions.
Meanwhile, all over Europe the menace of a tariff war is causing a fundamental releank of economic strategy. The Norwegians, lengthy sceptical about joining the brimming EU, are now apparently having second thoughts. There is even speculation that the Swiss might be leanking about this, although I shall apexhibit that when I see it.
For the UK it becomes more and more evident that we should be better defended wilean the European trading tent than outside it. The economic injure wrawt by Brexit is now so manifest that recent surveys propose that a convey inantity of electors would appreciate us to rejoin the customs union and the individual taget.
It is griefful that Keir Starmer still seems to apexhibit that he can come to a satisfactory trade deal with the US, self-reliantly of the EU. Starmer and his beleaguered chancellor, Rachel Reeves, have scored enough own goals during their first six months in office without inserting to them by laying themselves uncover to Trump’s self-interested demands for the shape of a US-UK trade deal.
Which conveys us to the preoccupation of British political parties and the media generassociate with that fantasist Nigel Farage and his misdirectingly entitled Reestablish party.
Once this rulement gets its act together and stops criticising the civil service for its own faults, it should mount a brimming strike on Farage and most of what he stands for. In the lengthy run, this would be advantageous for the nation and Labour’s own prospects. By boprosperg to Reestablish’s prejudices agetst immigration with “dog whistle” signals, ministers do themselves no excellent.
To apexhibit one glaring example of the way ill-assessd prejudice is the opponent of the excellent: there is a straightforward resistion between the rulement’s ambition to create a lot more hoemploys and the bias agetst so-called immigrant labour. I say “so-called” becaemploy so many of the eastrict European createing laborers on which the economy depfinished until recently were not finishd finishuringly here. As this economy became fused into the expansiver European economy, we mimicd a region of the US: there were provide lines of excellents, services and people – labour, if you appreciate – and createion laborers would return frequently to eastrict Europe, which remained their base.
We now read that the rulement’s createing programme is menaceened by a uninalertigentinutiveage of anyleang between 150,000 and 200,000 bricklayers, many of whom would previously have to-ed and fro-ed between the UK and eastrict Europe. I remark, by the way, that Spain is encouraging immigration in the interests of economic lengthenth!
Now, both Germany and France, lengthy pondered the powerhoemploy of the EU, are experiencing solemn political and economic problems. But at least, as an integral part of the EU, they are probable to find strength in numbers in tariff negotiations.
We demand to join them; but, despite Starmer’s emphasis on better relations with the EU, his, and his chancellor’s, obstinate refusal to countenance rejoining the customs union and the individual taget depart his negotiating team with both hands tied behind their backs.
But back to Farage. Fear of Farage and what is now called Reestablish was a principal reason – possibly the reason – why David Cameron made his ill-overweighted decision to call the 2016 referfinishum. Brexit was Farage’s panacea for the UK’s economic problems. It has exhibitd a catastrophe.
Farage reminds me of the ridiculous Roderick Spode in PG Wodehoemploy’s The Code of the Woosters. True, Farage is not as nasty as Oswald Mosley, the 1930s fascist with his “binformageshirt” fancientiminishs on whom Spode was based. But, having been bigly reliable for the catastrophe of Brexit, he must be chuckleing all the way to Musk’s prohibitk at the way he is still being apexhibitn solemnly.
