OPINION:
If rule 101 of the diplomat’s code is “build good relations with the government of the nation you are dispatched to,” then rule 102 is “don’t get caught slagging off its head of state.”
Great Britain’s now-former Ambassador to the United States, Sir Kim Darroch, failed both when his un-diplomatic memos were leaked over a week ago.
His assessments of President Trump appear as objective as an Adam Schiff intelligence report or Cher on a rant. Yet, despite having upset the president, Theresa May still chose to shower Mr. Darroch with praise, as did Parliament.
The British government’s displeasure is aimed instead at the leaker and a counter-terrorism criminal investigation to find them has been opened — and maybe even “Traitor’s Gate” at the Tower of London.
Mr. Darroch’s accounts of Mr. Trump were condescending. He is reported to have written, “I don’t think this Administration will ever look competent.” Just forget the booming U.S. economy and record low unemployment. When Mr. Trump pulled out of President Obama’s Iran deal, Mr. Darroch described it as an act of “diplomatic vandalism.”
Many within the British establishment would feel more comfortable with the Democrats in the White House. Issues that were previously left-wing are the new consensus here, accepted throughout the media, the civil service and by most political leaders.
Mr. Darroch certainly preferred Mr. Obama to Mr. Trump. This means Her Majesty’s representative favored the man who threatened to put Britain at the back of the line for a trade deal if it dared to vote for Brexit in the 2016 referendum, rather than Mr. Trump who says he wants to make a fantastic new trade deal whenever the great Brexit day arrives. Figure that one out.
I think deep down the British “Remainer” elite would rather the U.K.’s special relationship was with the EU than the United States. They don’t want Brexit and they probably view getting a deal with Brussels as the new plan B — “Remain” by stealth.
One sure way that Boris Johnson, or Jeremy Hunt, could stop MPs from blocking Britain leaving the EU without a deal for a third time is to suspend Parliament prior to the October 31 leave date. That is called proroguing parliament.
To stop that from happening, Conservative Dominic Grieve, a former attorney-general turned anti-Brexit plotter, had a cynical amendment passed last week that Parliament must be kept open in order to discuss progress in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Grieve says his ploy is to prevent “the end of parliamentary democracy.” He interprets that as meaning MPs should have the right to ignore the wishes of the 17.4 million citizens who won the referendum to leave the EU.
But if parliamentary democracy means so much to him, why does he like being in the EU? Ever since 1972 it has had supremacy over the House of Commons. Last week it chose five new presidents to preside over a staggering 500 million people through behind-closed-doors horse trading, not through holding elections.
That is how socialist states run, not democracies and it is quite extraordinary that the British ruling class, including Theresa May, doesn’t have a problem with that.
Now, you may be wondering how she is still in power more than a month after resigning, but what a legacy she will eventually leave:
• Her failure to deliver Brexit has seen the Conservative Party’s popularity plummet and it may well face an existential crisis at the next election, unless Boris or Jeremy get Britain out of the EU.
• She has just committed Britain by law to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, so that is it for life as we know it here — I am quite sure that is not revenge for having had her Brexit deal rejected.
• And she has managed to upset the U.S. president over Huawei, Iran and now the British ambassador.
Yet, despite that, the media hardly ever says a bad word about her policies. Maybe they think she is suitably “woke” on the EU, Donald Trump, anthropogenic climate change and diversity? Like her predecessor, David Cameron, she has always been more Tony Blair than Tory faithful.
Brexit has managed to end the careers of those two faux-conservative prime ministers. The other significant challenge to the seemingly inexorable growth of globalism in 2016 was the election of Donald Trump. That double-whammy was a huge setback to the left’s takeover in the West. But avoiding that corrosive fate is not yet a done-deal.
As a result of the leaks of the ambassador’s memos, now press freedom is under threat in Britain. Deputy Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner, Neil Basu, has warned that “The publication of leaked communications, knowing the damage they have caused or are likely to cause, may also be a criminal matter.”
Protecting national security is one thing, but if police start arresting journalists to protect political careers or government incompetence, that would be scary.
• Andrew Davies is a U.K.-based video producer and scriptwriter.
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