Why managing Donald Trump will be far more important than defending international law for Keir Starmer in Paris
IIt’s not often that a cabinet minister says the silent part out loud. But in his candid interview today pIn the program broadcast on Tuesday morning, Wes Streeting outlined the dilemma facing the UK and the rest of Europe in dealing with Donald Trump.
On the one hand, they want to defend a rules-based international order and can well see that the US military attack on Venezuela and the capture of President Nicola Maduro are probably illegal.
On the other hand, they do not want to poke the bear and push Trump to take rash action that would harm them.
And as Sir Keir Starmer joins French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders, including representatives of the Trump administration in Paris, on Tuesday, the dilemma will hang over their speeches like a Damoclean sword waiting to be broken.
As Mr Streeting put it: “The Prime Minister chooses very carefully what he says, how he says it and when he says it.
“Always at the forefront of his mind is how to make sure that he uses his influence and influence in a way that serves our national interest first and foremost, whether it’s an economic interest or a security interest, and then serves the collective interest as well as our global security and rules-based system that we’re seeing disintegrate before our eyes.”
In other words, forget about loudly defending international law when having to manage an ego like Trump.
And Venezuela is now a secondary issue in many ways. Maduro is in prison, the action is done and there is no turning back. The mold is cast.
But other problems are emerging big and fast.
There is real fear that Trump will send the US military to Greenland and seize the sovereign territory of an EU member and NATO ally without your permission.
After all, if he can do this with Venezuela, why not with Greenland?
So what could Britain and Europe do in such situations? The answer is not much. They could not counter the military power of the United States, and imposing sanctions would cripple the country. The impact of US tariffs has already hurt all of Europe, trying to block US trade completely would be economic suicide. Europe and the UK need more trade with the US, not less.
The truth is that an attack on Greenland would cause a lot of diplomatic noise, but not much else in the short term.
In addition, today’s meeting will be about the coalition of bidders for Ukraine. The only way to achieve peace with Russia is an agreement brokered by the United States. Europe is very weak. But this is about defining Europe’s borders with Russia.
Somehow they need to convince the Trump administration, alarmed by the economic damage caused by the Ukraine war, that Vladimir Putin must be tough.
But once again, it will be Starmer whose role will be crucial.
Other European leaders still view the British prime minister as a Trump whisperer. A statesman who can make the US president listen to him and convince him against some of his indecisive moves.
Sir Keir will be at the center of efforts to manage the US and Trump today and in the coming weeks.
But in the long run, this Paris summit could represent a turning point. Europe will need to figure out how to strengthen its military, security, and economy in a world where it can no longer trust or rely on the United States. These conversations will take place on the sidelines.
The UK itself will need to be part of these conversations, but a decade after the EU referendum it will finally face the choice of a future with its EU allies or becoming a sidekick to an aggressive America.
