Statesmanship - dos & don’ts
Harold Macmillan, 20 when WW1 began, grew up in the most powerful country the world had seen. He was 67, 23 years older than his counterpart, when this photo was taken in 1961. JFK had been 28 when the US took over the world, 16 years before. /1.
Harold Macmillan, 20 when WW1 began, grew up in the most powerful country the world had seen. He was 67, 23 years older than his counterpart, when this photo was taken in 1961. JFK had been 28 when the US took over the world, 16 years before. /1.
Macmillan understood reality. His country, already vastly diminished for decades, was a unquestionably dependent on & a supplicant to the US. He showed respect. Formed a strong relationship with the President. Achieved a beneficial deal. /2.
Boris Johnson, 22 years younger than Joe Biden, & 25 when the Berlin Wall came down, grew up in a medium-sized power dependent, like its neighbours & many others, on the American hyperpower. When he was 9 the UK finally properly joined in the European pillar of the US system. /3.
Unable adequately to process this, he was blind to reality. To pursue a mirage he took a wrecking ball to key British alliances. He formed a painful relationship with the President. And we still don’t know whether the deal the UK was “ first in line for” will ever happen. /4. End
Photo credits:
1. JFK & Macmillan, Nassau, 1961. Taken by Robert L Knudsen, via JFK Presidential Library
2. HMS Repulse, Firth of Clyde, 1979. US Navy, via Wikipedia
3. Margaret Thatcher, 1975. The Times
4. Biden/Johnson, 21 September 2021, via @PippaCrerar
1. JFK & Macmillan, Nassau, 1961. Taken by Robert L Knudsen, via JFK Presidential Library
2. HMS Repulse, Firth of Clyde, 1979. US Navy, via Wikipedia
3. Margaret Thatcher, 1975. The Times
4. Biden/Johnson, 21 September 2021, via @PippaCrerar
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