Trump goes to war... but Leo stands firm

THIS day last week, Theresa May announced the bones of a plan negotiated in Chequers, the traditional country retreat of British prime ministers, and that plan convinced her Cabinet to accept her proposals for a soft Brexit.

It was good news to Irish ears, committing as it did to regulatory convergence and to a light customs union for agriculture and manufacturing, the sectors of our economy that are most exposed to the British market.

But by Monday two of her ministers had resigned in protest, posing a grave threat not only to the acceptance of the plan by Tory MPs but also to her premiership itself. And just as it looked like she might weather the storm, an extraordinary and unprecedented intervention by US President Donald Trump came in the form of an interview in the Sun newspaper, in which he claimed to have told Mrs May how best to proceed with Brexit and complained that she had ignored him.

Despite being in more conciliatory mood at their joint press conference yesterday, though still not quite withdrawing his claims, he also launched another attack on Germany for buying Russian gas and oil, and condemned the European Union for what he sees as its unequal trading relationship with the US.

It must now be pretty clear to all that the president wants to undermine the EU, quite extraordinary behaviour by the leader of the United States. Imperfect as it may be, the EU has overseen the longest continuous period of peace in European history and has been a powerful catalyst for human rights and social change.

That’s why comments from the Taoiseach are to be welcomed. Yesterday, he sent a strong signal that the US president has no business interfering in the internal workings of the union, and openly suggested that his goal, following the policy of former adviser Steve Bannon, was to see it implode.

Mrs May has been left with an unholy mess to clear up. The Taoiseach is correct in reminding Mr Trump that it is her business to do so, and not that of any foreign interloper, and he is also right to defend the integrity of our union of shared ideals and values.