More skilful words were needed
WITH friends like these, who needs enemies?
It’s a question United States President Donald Trump could be forgiven for asking this week, in the wake of the inflammatory leaked memos penned by the UK’S outgoing Ambassador to Washington, Sir Kim Darroch.
It’s a saga that has played into the British prime ministerial contest between Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson and has seen some sensational tweets from President Trump.
In the cables, leaked to a UK newspaper, Sir Kim described Trump’s administration as inept and dysfunctional and the President himself as “insecure.”
The most infamous line was this: “We don’t really believe this administration is going to become substantially more normal; less dysfunctional; less unpredictable; less faction riven; less diplomatically clumsy and inept.”
Sir Kim’s words could have been describing Theresa May’s Government. But that’s beside the point. Trump, understandably, vowed to no longer deal with Sir Kim, describing him as a “pompous fool.”
“I do not know the Ambassador but he is not liked or well thought of within the US,” he tweeted. “We will no longer deal with him.”
Despite his tax reform and success in strengthening the American economy, Trump’s position as President is still so divisive that it is becoming a factor in domestic political contests the world over.
In the Israeli presidential election, there were massive billboards of Benjamin Netanyahu alongside his friend, Trump.
A similar situation is now unfolding in the Tory battle to replace Prime Minister May.
Johnson hasn’t constructed billboards – although you wouldn’t put it past him – but the events this week have had the same impact.
There’s a stark contrast between Johnson, who has developed a solid relationship with the United States President, and Hunt, who stridently defended Sir Kim and criticised Trump’s twitter reaction to the leak.
Hunt said Trump’s response was “disrespectful and wrong” — quite an extraordinary way to deal with one of Britain’s closest allies. During the Tory leadership debate this week, Johnson six times declined to say that Sir Kim should remain in his position.
Johnson was also asked if he had ever criticised Trump, and had to rattle off a list of instances, from the US’ decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement and the Iran nuclear deal.
But he made the point the public want the UK Prime Minister to have a strong and close working relationship with the United States.
Along with his position on Brexit, it’s an integral part of his pitch to replace May.
The cables sent by Sir Kim, dating back to 2017, were tightly held.
But, during his time as foreign secretary, Johnson would have been a recipient of them.
This is why he and his supporters are now under suspicion for leaking them at such a critical time in the leadership battle.
The leak advances Johnson’s position among conservative party members.
But the diplomatic community has firmly come to Sir Kim’s defence with the message that the real culprit is whoever leaked the inflammatory memos. This is just nonsense.
Sir Kim is a diplomat, for goodness sake. A diplomat should know how to be, well, diplomatic. He could have skilfully communicated concerns over Trump’s dysfunctional administration without putting it so bluntly. This is particularly the case given these cables are not the first set of documents critical of Trump to leak.
Or, he could have offered more insightful and constructive analysis than what is plainly obvious to anyone who has any common understanding of the White House, where senior staff have left in droves.
His advice should have revolved around how to navigate the administration, and how best to develop a close relationship with the Presidential team.
But, naturally, May and her Cabinet, including Hunt, who was a Remainer ahead of the 2016 referendum, did not see Sir Kim’s correspondence this way.
Theresa May held a cabinet meeting this week where the top item was Sir Kim. After the meeting, she phoned the diplomat and told him he enjoyed her support and that of the entire Cabinet. It says much about May’s approach to leadership. May never managed to respect the public’s vote on Brexit, three years after the referendum.
Similarly, she and her senior Cabinet ministers were content to chuckle about Trump’s insecurities and dysfunction behind closed doors, still failing to understand why he was elected President. May, Hunt and her team are the very out-of-touch elite Trump railed against during his first presidential campaign.
May reportedly told MPS: “I hope the House will reflect on the importance of defending our values and principles, particularly when they are under pressure.”
What values and principles are these? The right for a crucial diplomat to bluntly smash the sitting president with as much diplomacy as a radio shock-jock?
Now, May is looking at appointing a new ambassador in her dying days of office, reportedly furious at Kim’s treatment.
Another arrogant decision – and one that Johnson and Hunt should both firmly object to.
There is the view that Trump was too thinskinned and that frank diplomatic cables are par for the course. That may be so, but the point has been made, correctly, that Trump personalises geopolitics. Thus, the notion Sir Kim could have continued as ambassador, in charge of managing the relationship between the US and UK, is ludicrous.
Even without Trump’s to-the-point tweets, Sir Kim’s opinion of the President had been exposed. The entire saga shed a fresh light on the close relationship our ambassador to Washington, Joe Hockey, shares with Trump.
Their warm personal relationship is one that many, even inside the upper echelons of the Federal Government, have taken for granted.
As experienced as he is, Sir Kim could have taken some lessons from Hockey who has managed the relationship with the Trump Presidency from its inception in an exceptional manner and is unlikely to have been so careless and undiplomatic in his correspondence.
Yes, ambassadors are paid to give frank advice, but as diplomats they can communicate with wiser, calmer and more careful words.