By The Left...

View Original

Trumphant!

Well, it happened!  Donald Trump became 45th President of The United States of America yesterday.  And what do we take from his inorguaation speech?  America First, as if America has not always had that attitude.  What he really means is a retreat from its obligations of the past. Such as, reducing its NATO forces.  A realignment of Its attitude to Russia and a far more protectionist stance at home.

What does all this mean?  In simple terms Europe will have to pay more of its GDP on defence within NATO.  Europe may also have to rethink its attitude towards how it deals with Putin and his growing influence in the Middle East.  When we look at trade between the two continents.  TTIP is dead in the water.  It was never going to work! The Pan-European model espoused by the 27 remaining EU members was never going to accepted by the US unless the US won hands down on TTIP.  Donald Trump seems to favour more bilateral trade deals, maybe playing one country off against another to get his way.

Certainly, times are changing and so are attitudes towards a globalisation by commerce and industry who think the rules don't apply to them.  If you watched their reaction to Theresa May at Davos this week, they seemed nonplussed by her remarks.

One thing is for sure, we are not going to be able to keep up with the changes enacted by President Trump. Nor will politics be the same again in "the land of the free."

 

 President Trump

Above is link to BBC News Website.