UK must join Mark Carney's new coalition or face domination by US and China – Henry McLeish
Countries like the UK are destined to remain outsiders on the edge of history as the USA and China dictate their futures – unless they rally to Mark Carney’s cause
Amidst the global gloom and tyranny of the Trump era, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, building on his Davos speech earlier in the year, used his platform at the European Parliament last week to outline what a new international order might look like and what practical steps the emerging “coalition of the willing” could take.
He effectively argued for a common sense reset that could inspire this generation to tackle the issues of a divided and dangerous world and the existential threats facing the planet.
Before Donald Trump decided Canada ought to be the 51st US state, Carney’s Liberals looked set to lose last year’s parliamentary elections. However, not relishing the thought of being under Trump’s yoke, Canadian voters chose Carney to be their leader and stand up to the US President.
‘A rupture in the world order’
Carney’s Davos speech set the tone for his arrival on the world stage, with tough but measured criticism for those pursuing populism, authoritarianism and a total disregard for planet Earth. He asserted there had been “a rupture in the world order... not a transition”, warning “the middle powers must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu”.
At a time when the US is no longer the trusted ally of past years, Carney is emerging as a leader not just of Canada but of global standing, and a symbol of opposition to Trump.
In Strasbourg, he developed his thinking about the need for new international alliances. “The institutions we have inherited are organised by geography. The strategic capabilities we need are organised by function. We can ally by function, if we are bold and deliberate,” he said.
And, in a call for greater action to tackle global warming – an issue dismissed by Trump – he added: “We should recognise the ecosystem we have built is not yet equal to the ferocity of the changing climate. Nor is it moving fast enough to match the speed of the upheaval.”
When there are remarkably important issues impacting human life on Earth that are being ignored or made worse by the actions of a few, new coalitions of the willing make sense.
World needs stronger leadership
The idea of associate member status of the European Union for Canada is more symbolic than practical for the foreseeable future, but it is a statement of intent. Carney’s Strasbourg speech, however, was about more than that. The European Union and UK are being asked to play pivotal roles in his plans.
Our world lacks political leadership, the United Nations is in decline, the power blocs of Russia, China, Trump’s America and an emerging India dominate. US and Chinese technology giants control much of our global information platforms and now monopolise the development of AI. We are destined to remain outsiders on the edge of history as the USA and China dictate the futures of other countries and destroy their sovereignty.
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Yet some countries do not appear to have the political will, courage, leadership, belief, organisational ability or ambition to contest this divided world, and confront the hard men of authoritarian politics and their reckless abuse of planet Earth.
The entropic nature of global politics is the product of a difficult century in which building international governance has proved elusive. The First and Second World Wars inspired the creation of the League of Nations and then the UN. In 1945, the distribution of spoils was overseen by the US, Soviet Union and the UK.
New structures such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Nato aimed to help fix a broken world. The European Union emerged through the Treaty of Rome in 1958. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was soon followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
More recently, we have seen wars in Israel, Ukraine and Iran with damaging consequences for international political and economic stability. It seems we have learned little from history. The future offers a great deal of foreboding. A new look for an old world is Carney’s rallying call. But will it be heeded?
UK must move closer to EU
America’s retreat from its global responsibilities and selective isolationism are clearly part of the story but the focus on America or China should not blind us to the evident failure of the UK and other democracies to respond.
Carney’s vision goes further than an emphasis on trade, defence and security, including global governance and the UN; defending human rights; protecting and enhancing democracy; climate change; regulating technology and AI; nuclear weapons; clean energy; migration; stable global institutions; and legal structures to ensure global justice.
But today we are preoccupied with national self-interest and parts of the world are being ignored. The long-term future of Africa, Latin America and the Middle East are receiving scant attention. It is little wonder there is a migration crisis.
Candidate countries for the new global coalitions could include Canada, the European Union, Ukraine and other former Soviet bloc states, Asian countries such as South Korea and Japan, and Australasia. National sovereignty and reclaiming democracy are high on the agenda.
The UK is a middling power and must move closer to the EU to help build this new world order, retaining our sovereignty but understanding the need for new alliances based on shared ideals.
Carney is the global man of the moment. But other leaders must show their hand to ensure the rights of men, women and nations are respected and save the planet from burning up early.
Henry McLeish is a former First Minister of Scotland
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