Tory leader tries to score points by siding with out-of-control president hellbent on destroying Nato and Europe
I
t had been a relatively quiet night. Apart from Donald Trump giving a long, rambling press conference in which he offered only a few mild insults to his supposed allies and posting mockups of Canada and Greenland covered in the Stars and Stripes. Apart from that. But that barely raises an eyebrow these days.
Still, any respite – even 12 hours – is to be welcomed. Gives Keir Starmer a moment to catch his breath. A morning when the news cycle looks vaguely like it did the night before. Even if that is situation normal: all fucked up. A chance to think. Rather than be bounced into yet another psychotic parallel universe. Shame then that Kemi Badenoch didn’t also use the time to do the same. Thinking has never appeared to be her strong point.
There are times when the leader of the opposition has to play the long game at prime minister’s questions. To not make everything about party politics. Starmer understood this when Labour was in opposition. Time and again at critical moments in the Ukraine war, he would make a point of backing Boris Johnson in his support for Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It wasn’t just about presenting a united front. It was about showing he had the nous and the judgment to put the national interest first.
