- Published
The first public words from the prime minister after the American midterm elections were instantly revealing about contemporary international politics and diplomacy.
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words → publish → politics
"Well, President Trump has accepted the results," Andy Burnham said.
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Burnham → accept → results
It is not an observation British leaders have frequently had to make about recent American presidents – that they are not disputing the result of elections in their own country.
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they → have → country
But what would previously have been taken for granted no longer can be.
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taken → take → ?
Burnham remains in the foothills of establishing a relationship with the president – so far it has amounted to a handful of phone calls and one face-to-face meeting at the United Nations in New York in September.
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it → remain → September
As he continues to attempt to build a rapport with Donald Trump, he will be doing so with a president in a wildly different political situation than when Sir Keir Starmer was trying to build bridges with him.
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Starmer → continue → him
No longer is this a story of an extraordinary comeback, but of a midterm president seemingly punished for the consequences of a foreign war the type of which he had originally promised to avoid.
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he → punish → which
And it is noticeable that the British government's public reaction is grounded too in the consequences of the war with Iran: the cost of living.
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reaction → ground → living
"I feel the world has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all and that's the cost of living," the prime minister said.
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minister → feel → living
"But I can't get people's cost of living pressures down until the conflict in the Middle East is resolved, the conflict between in Ukraine started by Russia."
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conflict → get → Russia
Within government the Iran war and its consequences, particularly on energy prices, is widely seen as the biggest individual contributor among the many factors currently driving up the cost of living.
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war → see → living
And, bluntly, it is one that puts many, including many of America's allies, in alignment with many in America, Democrat and Republican, who when asked why these elections went as they did, point at the prices displayed outside any petrol station.
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they → put → station
Speaking before the votes in America were counted, the Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband reflected on this when I spoke to him on BBC Newscast, external.
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I → speak → Newscast
When I asked him specifically if he feared that a domestically humiliated Trump may prove more belligerent internationally, it was to the Iran war the foreign secretary referred.
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secretary → ask → war
He didn't offer a direct answer to my question, but chose instead to say this: "I know that one of the biggest responsibilities of the whole government, frankly, is the cost of living situation at home, and we know one of the biggest contributors to the cost of living situation is, frankly, the conflict."
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one → offer → situation
"The Strait of Hormuz being not exactly closed, but not properly open, not free flowing, and that is hitting families at home," he said.
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he → close → home
"We know that we need a diplomatic way out of this conflict, and so that is one of the things that we're working on.
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we → know → that
It's something I talked to the U.S. Secretary of State about at the G20, and it's something we continue to work on," he added.
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he → talk → G20
The foreign secretary met Marco Rubio at the meeting in Atlanta last week.
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secretary → meet → Atlanta
But the big question for the British government, and so many others, is does defeat at home make it more likely that President Trump gets angrier abroad?
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Trump → make → home
Or, do America's traditional allies, the UK, the European Union, Canada, Australia and others feel more strident and willing to work with Donald Trump's domestic political opponents to try to challenge and restrain a weakened president?
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allies → feel → president
The answers to these two final questions will determine much in world affairs in the next couple of years.
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answers → determine → years
The Aporia
