We didn’t have time to discuss it in depth on #Newsnight - but I wanted to add - @realDonaldTrump is tearing up the Transatlantic Alliance in a big way: next item on his take-down list, NATO. Watch at the upcoming NATO Summit .
Germany, with Angela Merkel - the antithesis to Trump - as its chancellor will be number one on the take down list. Trump smells blood around Merkel and is happy to play a role in trying to take her down. (See his interventions on crime stats in Germany & migrants.)
Of course - all of this bodes very badly for the rest of Europe and the West - Britain included - as @realDonaldTrump will not only be waging trade wars with his closest allies, but taking a sledgehammer to our collective defense.
And with a nice flourish to bang the nail into the coffin he will then go to meet Putin days after the NATO Summit.
All this against a backdrop of alt-right/xenophobic/ racist parties on the rise in the US and Europe (including Trumpian politics) proclaiming to be serving the ‘will of the people.’ Make no mistake - this is a very dangerous time for democracy.
The liberal democratic model that we value so dearly is no longer the aspirational norm - it is the exception. And it remains to be seen if it can survive under all the assaults it currently faces.
I wanted to add this on @BBCNewsnight as to the bigger global context re Merkel, Trump, Brexit - but no time. But we should start connecting the dots.
In the words of Steve Bannon in an article published in the @spectator recently - « you have to be willfully blind not to see it. »
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Classic UK reading Germany wrong again. Merkel did not endorse the plan. She and other EU leaders were begged not to immediately shoot it down as 🍒 picking. thesun.co.uk/news/6756073/t…
So it is the basis to keep the negotiations moving - and as far as the EU is concerned - the UK will have to make more concessions.
As I keep saying: ECJ/EFTA, £, FoM
This classic misreading of Germany happens over and over again. Cameron over Juncker, Cameron on free movement during the EU renegotiation, all Brexiteers on German car manufacturers....
Another reason why Brexit was/is such a bad idea. The UK burns bridges with its EU allies in an increasingly unstable world, at at time when the 'special relationship' couldn't be more perilous. Even more difficult for May to push for unified Western response. #Russia#Skripal
1. Magnified by Trump's statement that US will "condemn" any Russian involvement. Condemn" implicitly sounds like it will stay in the realm of diplomacy.
2. So what can TM do? - Some unilateral UK actions, like freezing assets of Putin cronies, tackling money laundering through City (will come with a financial cost.)
Catch me on @skynews at 12.30 GMT - where I will be discussing Theresa May’s meeting with Angela Merkel in Berlin. #Brexit
1. In case it wasn’t already clear - Germany’s position on Brexit will not change. The U.K. has a history of over-relying in Germany in EU negotiations. (Cameron made this mistake too.)
2. This displays a misunderstanding of the vital political, strategic and economic importance of the EU to Germany.
'European Press Reaction,' to #Brexit thread time. It's been a while, always good get some perspective. (Will add more during the day). /1
Comment in @DLF, leads: "Britain's departure from the World Stage." - "Brexit is political idiocy. By today, every observer should have realised by now that the United Kingdom will not only leave the EU but, above all, leave the world stage."2/
.@DLF: "Brexit is the biggest political idiocy since the Roman Emperor Caligula decided to appoint his favorite horse Incitatus as consul. Anyone who needed further proof of this thesis has received it today." 3/
1. New round of #Brexit talks in Brussels today & #Prexit behind us, let's take stock of what EU papers are saying in Ep 100 of 'Nothing Has Changed.' (Thread.)
2. France's @LesEchos says TM is "increasingly fragile." Notes, "Clearly, chances that outstanding Brexit issues are resolved" in this round of talks "are close to nill." lesechos.fr/monde/europe/0…
3. @LesEchos: "The increasingly fragility of TM is a subject that's preoccupying the minds of EU leaders, who prefer to negotiate with a strong leader."