Leaders put up frontiers of self-interest

WE are regularly informed that the president of the United States of America is the leader of the free world. I would suggest a reanalysis of that notion.

Nothing is free, not even a lunch, as Americans themselves say. The Prime Minister was born and lived his early (formative) years in the US and should be seen as the most significant obstacle to the containment and overcoming of coronavirus.

Neither the UK or US have given more than a token gesture toward getting vaccines to those countries crying out for a fair distribution.

Prior to the emergence of Omicron, each was implying the pandemic was over. But it could never be over while the world’s wealthiest countries are vaccinated at a ratio of 20:1 compared low-income countries.

Like all wealth, they will always give away words, e.g. “We want to thank South Africa scientists for the speed with which they shared data on the new variant” – but what will they actually give if it becomes necessary for that data to contribute to a new vaccine?

It was significant that Trump dismissed the usefulness of the World Health Organisation. While Biden may have reinvented the US it will still be the same old, selfish Uncle Sam that entered the First World War at the 11th hour; became the only country to use nuclear weapons; evolved the Marshall Plan to place the UK into years of national debt while getting the benefit of British ideas and innovation.

The tragedy, if Omicron becomes a tragedy, is that selfinterest is best served not by overcoming borders but by sans frontieres in all global matters, be they coronavirus or climate change.

Michael Wallis, by email