Good luck with that
of Brexit have a tendency to gush over Britain’s bond with America. Before the referendum in 2016, Boris Johnson—now prime minister, then mayor of London—predicted that, outside the European Union, the thriving British would be “even better and more valuable allies of the United States”. Britain’s relationship with America had long been “special”, enthused Liam Fox as trade secretary in 2018. But Brexit provided a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to raise it to a new level”.
All this adds to a sense of uncertainty, post-Brexit, about Britain’s status and role in the world. The so-called special relationship has always been lopsided: Helmut Schmidt, a German chancellor, once quipped that it was so special only one side knew it existed. But for nearly half a century, membership of the European club allowed the British to stop fretting too much about their influence in the world.
Special or not, the relationship has often been fraught. Apart from the Suez debacle, friction arose between Harold Wilson and Lyndon Johnson over Wilson’s refusal to support the war in Vietnam. Even Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, who were so chummy that Reagan’s successor, George H.W. Bush, said “he was just smitten by her”, fell out over America’s invasion of Grenada in 1983.
This closeness has often been evident at the top, starting with the wartime partnership between Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. Whether it was the free-market freedom-championing of Thatcher and Reagan or the war-fighting of Mr Blair and George W. Bush, British and American leaders have tended to act in tandem.
This strategic intimacy dates to the second world war. However, it is not immutable. Kori Schake of the American Enterprise Institute , a think-tank, warns that “Britain is perilously close to becoming just like any other Western military rather than the preferred partner of theIn recent years the sorest point has been British defence cuts. In 2015 Barack Obama demanded, in terms that would foreshadow Mr Trump’s rhetoric, that David Cameron, then prime minister, pay his “fair share”.
But the options for diversification are limited. Brexit has left Britain cut out of a new European defence fund and a project to build a European satellite-navigation system. Going it alone is pricey: a proposed British-built alternative constellation would cost around £5bn. So Britain will have a lot to wrestle with as it conducts a comprehensive review of security, defence and foreign policy. Mr Johnson has promised it will be the most radical assessment since the end of the cold war.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
European shares inch higher on Brexit relief; Coronavirus fears cap gainsEuropean shares opened a tad higher on Monday as investors were relieved that th...
Read more »
Johnson: UK will not follow EU rules in Brexit trade deal - Business InsiderThe prime minister will on Monday warn the EU that there is 'no need' for Britain to follow its rules in any future trade deal.
Read more »
Europe markets set for higher open despite Brexit, coronavirus concernsEuropean markets are set to open higher on Monday as investors appear to brush off concerns over the U.K.'s departure from the EU.
Read more »
Days after Brexit, Macron visits Poland amid frosty tiesFrench President Emmanuel Macron visits Poland on Monday and Tuesday in an effor...
Read more »
U.K. Companies Brace for Bumps on Brexit HomestretchAlthough Britain left the European Union on Friday, the terms of their future economic relationship still have to be thrashed out—leaving executives still in the dark over essential questions on tariffs and regulations.
Read more »
Joy and sadness: how the world is reacting on Brexit DayThe United Kingdom leaves the European Union at 2300 GMT on Friday, ending its 4...
Read more »