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by Ian Shires on 9 December, 2016
Published on Liberal Democrat Voice By Caron Lindsay | Thu 8th December 2016 – 9:18 pm
Sometimes I feel like I just want to get a big, soft cushion with Obama’s face on it to hide behind every time the news comes on after 20th January next year.
The US electorate has put a Twitter troll in charge. You would think that the person in the most powerful job in the world would have better things to do than take to social media to respond to every tiny criticism of him. The other day, for example, he said this of his call with Taiwan’s leader:
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump
Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call.
But it’s not as if we are particularly fantastic on the diplomatic front either. Boris does tend to open his mouth and say what he thinks at any given moment without checking to see if he is in line with British Government policy. I’d be the first one to stand up and criticise the Saudi administration and in much stronger terms than he did. But the world of international diplomacy doesn’t cope well with mixed messages.
Boris has been slapped down loads of times for shooting his mouth off and he hasn’t even been in the job for 5 months. Amber Rudd had to remind him of his place when he whined about Brexit not happening fast enough. Then Theresa May slapped him down for spilling the beans on Article 50 before she did. Then Downing Street played down what Boris said about us “probably” leaving the customs union. This is what we should expect to happen, though, given that he turned out to have given away the Article 50 timetable.
Tom Brake, our shadow Foreign Secretary, joked that Boris had been slapped down more times than Baldrick from Blackadder:
Boris Johnson has now been slapped down almost as many times as Baldrick in Blackadder.
He’s right to criticise Saudi Arabia’s record, but will be deservedly branded a hypocrite if he now toes the government line this weekend.
His comments have exposed the duplicity and division at the heart of this Conservative Brexit government.
Paddy Ashdown was a wee bit more direct in a tweet:
Paddy AshdownVerified account @paddyashdown
Boris looks a gonner – the result of PMs bad judgement. As I said here the most bizarre appointment since Caligula made his horse a Consul.
Both Trump and Johnson make loose cannon look stable and disciplined. The next few years are certainly going to be interesting.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron’s Musings
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