Regardless of the answer, Britain really needs the U.S.
#America in turmoil free
“Is it capable of being the leader of the free world?″ “People in Britain are wondering if America really stands for the values of liberal democracy,″ said Jeffrey William Howard, an associate professor of politics at University College London. Now some here wonder: Can America still claim to be the beacon of democracy and fair play the world over? Or does an advancing tribalism erase the country’s longstanding claim to the title? Ever since the 2016 referendum in which the country voted to leave the European Union, political discourse in this island nation has been riven by division. “The world is getting worse and worse because of the United States now.”īritain knows a thing or two about extreme polarization. “Of course it concerns us,” Mistral said. This time, the election is liable to be watched even closer still. elections are always watched closely in France, partly because of the weight Washington wields in the world but also because of the vast campaign spending and electoral procedures that have no equivalent in French politics. “Uncertainty,” said Mistral, “is now permanent.” Though France has had famous disputes in the past with Washington, notably saying “non” to the U.S.-led war that toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the feeling in Paris used to be that Washington was dependable and predictable. “If the United States put all their weight behind not doing something, then there is no chance of that thing happening,” Mistral said. The experience of losing the White House’s ear on such key issues has been somewhat humbling for France, showing how little it can get done alone on the international stage if Washington is opposed. On issues that are dear to Macron - notably battling climate change and trying to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons - there have been sharp divergences. “He has alienated everybody.”įamously muscular white-knuckle handshakes between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron have served as metaphors for a difficult, turbulent relationship. “Since President Trump’s arrival, we’ve felt a considerable distance with dear America,” says Jacques Mistral, a French former prime ministerial and government economics adviser and former financial affairs adviser at the French Embassy in Washington. election through their own prism - four years during which one of the world’s oldest international alliances has been bashed around. It’s safe to say that many in France are viewing the U.S.
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