Yahoo – AFP, James PHEBY, November 5, 2017
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| British Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump initially appeared to develop a close bond, but the so-called "special relationship" is under strain (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski) |
London
(AFP) - Donald Trump's election was expected to hand Britain a secret weapon in
forging a post-Brexit future, but his interventions in British politics and
controversial foreign policy have strained the so-called "special
relationship".
The bond
between Britain and the United States has been the backbone of the post-war
geopolitical order, but after huge political upheaval in both countries, a
status update on the special relationship might now read: "It's
complicated".
Trump rode
to the White House on a populist wave also seen in the Brexit vote. He appeared
keen to help the UK by promising a swift trade deal once it left the European
Union, in stark contrast to predecessor Barack Obama who had warned Britain
would be "at the back of the queue".
Brexit
supporters hailed Trump as "the tooth fairy", giving Britain an
unexpected card in their negotiations with the EU.
But the US
president's split with the international community over the Iran nuclear deal,
his war-of-words with North Korea and his withdrawal from the Paris climate
accord have strained relations and left Britain in a diplomatic fix.
"The
idea that Donald Trump is going to come in on a white horse and fix all of
Britain's trade problems is a myth," London School of Economics fellow
Brian Klaas told AFP.
"It's
a misplaced optimism because trade negotiations will take years to complete and
Trump says things all the time that he doesn't mean and will never follow
through on.
"Trump
might not win in 2020, he might not be the person that the UK is dealing
with," he added.
State
visit controversy
Relations
took a severe blow in September when the US imposed stiff tariffs on Canadian
aerospace firm Bombardier, which employs thousands of people in Northern
Ireland, following a complaint from Boeing.
Former
defence secretary Michael Fallon warned the move "could indeed jeopardise
our future relationship with Boeing," dashing hopes that the US would
offer favourable terms in a future deal, which can only be officially
negotiated after Britain leaves the EU in 2019.
"There
is still the possibility of a trade deal, but at the moment we can't foresee
what that will look like," Russell Foster, foreign policy expert at King's
College London, told AFP.
"The
only indication we have got is what's happened in Northern Ireland with Boeing
and Bombardier, where yet again Trump's unpredictable nature means 4,000 jobs
are going to be lost."
British
Prime Minister Theresa May was the first world leader to visit Trump's White
House, and appeared to develop a bond, inviting the US leader for a state visit
to stay with the Queen.
But hours
after the meeting, Trump unexpectedly announced a travel ban from seven
Muslim-majority countries, affecting dual British citizens and wrong-footing
British officials, according to emails released by the BBC last week.
"The
dual nationals angle will of course be really difficult for us," read one
Foreign Office email.
"Not
great after the PM visit," said another.
The offer
of a state visit has reportedly been downgraded following a backlash to Trump's
executive order.
There were
threats of boycotts and mass protests, while speaker John Bercow declared the
US president would not be allowed to address the House of Commons.
The row
also strained personal relations between the two leaders.
"It's
in Britain and America's interest to have close relations, but the political
peril of that is huge," said Klaas.
'One-sided' relationship
Trump has
also infuriated British authorities with his tweets on terrorism in Britain,
including highly publicised run-ins with London mayor Sadiq Khan.
However,
while commentators and politicians rushed to condemn Trump, some of the
criticism may be the result of the US leader's habit of highlighting volatile
wedge issues that pit the establishment against sizeable chunks of the general
public.
"As
much as Trump is imagined by much of the elite as a bit of a clown, he's a very
powerful symbolic figurehead for people who are dissatisfied and feel abandoned
by establishment elites," said Foster.
The British
establishment therefore finds itself in a bind, he added, with little choice
but to persevere with a leader they see as a liability and who represents a
movement that "absolutely" poses a threat to their very existence.
"The
US provides us with economic and military benefits which far outweigh the
benefits that we give to the Americans," Foster said.
"The
special relationship has always been very one-sided."
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