Irish Examiner view: Summit could be a political landmark

Tue, 14 Nov, 2023 - 02:00

History is littered with supposedly groundbreaking summit meetings between powerful men which end up in one way or another having a massive effect on the lives of millions.

These meetings include the Council of Nicaea in 325AD, recognised as the binding theological foundation for organised Christianity; or the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918 which allowed Bolshevik Russia to withdraw from the First World War in return for the independence of 11 countries — including Ukraine — and which is still being used as an excuse by Vladimir Putin for the illegal war he is waging against that country.

There was also such as the Congress of Vienna in 1814 which decided on the shape of Europe in a post-Napoleon world; the conference of Yalta in 1945 between allied leaders Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill, which effectively carved up post-war Europe and created the Iron Curtain; the Treaty of Rome negotiations which created the EU; or even the 1986 Reykjavik Summit between Reagan and Gorbachev which effectively signposted the end of the Soviet Union.

These were truly landmark occasions where global leaders gathered to make decisions which changed, altered, or shattered the accepted norms of the day and put history on a new and previously untrodden path.

Tomorrow in San Francisco, US president Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will meet for their first in-person meeting in a year as the war in Ukraine drags on and the conflict in Gaza spirals towards human catastrophe.

While the discussions between the two men are unlikely to ultimately have a huge historic resonance, particularly as China is more immediately interested in economic and technological issues than the geopolitical ones which concern America, it is vital that the recent diplomatic coolness between the two thaws even further.

The issue of Taiwan, which America recognises as an independent state but China claims as its own, is going to be tricky, but the focus for both sides is expanding relations and lines of communication before what is likely to be a turbulent 2024 electoral year in both the US and Taiwan.

Many may focus on the negatives facing both leaders this week, but it is to be hoped both administrations see the acute benefits of open and honest discussion. This meeting might not immediately be seen as a Yalta or a Reykjavik, but it could be as important.

Cameron move an election ploy

If the sacking yesterday of British home secretary Suella Braverman came as no surprise after weeks of her continuously pressing the self-destruct button, then the appointment of former prime minister David Cameron as foreign secretary in the resulting cabinet reshuffle most certainly did.

As the darling of the populist right-wing of the Conservative Party, Braverman has become the first person to be sacked from the home secretary’s job twice in less than a year.

She has sparked ire from almost every quarter as she lashed out at immigrants, undermined her own police forces, accused homeless people of making a “lifestyle” choice, made pointedly racist allegations about “grooming gangs” involved in child sexual abuse, and accused the “tofu-eating wokerati” of being behind disruptive public protests.

Her assertion last week that pro-Palestinian protesters were taking part in “hate marches” was another gaffe which embarrassed prime minister, Richi Sunak, but her refusal to alter an opinion piece for The Times to what was acceptable to No 10 was the final straw.

Her ministerial career — at least in a Sunak administration — bit the dust shortly before 9am yesterday, ironically the week the courts are to decide on the legality of one of her keynote policies, the deportation of immigrants to Rwanda.

In an obvious play towards the future leadership of her party — assuming Sunak will get mauled at the next election — Braverman made many friends on the extremities of the party but became too toxic for the current leadership.

That being the case, Sunak’s appointment of former Tory leader David Cameron (and the first former prime minister since Alec Douglas Home to regain cabinet membership after being PM) came as a real shock.

This, after all, was the man who bowed to Brexiteer pressure and called the fateful vote on the UK’s continued membership of the EU and had to resign when his “remain” rump were beaten at the polls.

Is it something of a measure of the desperate situation the current party leadership finds itself in — politically, economically, and morally — that it has had to resort to bringing back a core EU supporter to try and shore things up ahead of what will be a difficult election?

Farming for good

Change is a constant presence in all of our lives and how we adapt to it, particularly with regards to our climate, will define how we live going forward.

Refusal to familiarise ourselves with changing times and circumstances and a failure to acclimatise with what life presents us are generally not conducive to societal wellbeing.

It was disappointing, therefore, last week when the Irish Farmers’ Association reacted so negatively to the latest EU nature restoration law proposals which will require extensive restoration of wetlands and protected habitats.

By now it is widely agreed that the world is facing an unprecedented environmental challenge on many fronts which will cause us all to examine and adapt our behaviour. The simple fact is that mankind cannot continue to behave has it has been doing, otherwise it is doomed.

Rather than its traditional “we-shall-not-be-moved” rhetoric, perhaps the IFA — like many Irish farmers already have — should listen and adapt to the changes that, while painful in the short term, will benefit all future generations and especially farmers. Farming culture can feel like a thankless task, understood by a dwindling portion of the population. Fighting measures that seek to heal our climate won’t increase sympathy for, or understanding of the farming community. Influencing our climate fightback and being a force for good will ensure its survival.

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