The Tribune

SINCE this column is mainly about international affairs, it might be appropriate at the beginning of January to attempt a brief broad brush review of the year and offer some thoughts about the coming months in what has become a crisis-ridden world. But I fear that in today’s state of febrile uncertainty it would be hazardous to try to predict even the immediate future.

Instead, while commenting on the perceptible shift of power away from a US-dominated world with its long-standing Western values, it might be more rewarding to look at the role, achievements and influence on the world stage of certain prominent people who passed away last year. Among many others, I am thinking, for example, of French politician and statesman, Jacques Delors, the former long-serving president of the European Commission in Brussels, who died in December at the age of 98. He was a towering political figure who shaped the modern European Union.

But, first, the general consensus is that 2023 was a period of almost unprecedented turmoil in modern world history and that the coming year promises to be little better. Momentous times are ahead with national elections in the US, Britain and for the European Parliament, not to mention Russia where Putin will – more likely than not – consolidate his position of overwhelming power.

For the West, the balance of power and the influence of NATO and the EU have been affected primarily by the war in Ukraine not going as well as had been expected despite the huge influx of weaponry, military aid and equipment from the US and other sources and after the apparent failure of the much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive in the east; and now support in Washington seems to be ebbing while the EU’s new aid package is reportedly being held up by Hungary. However, one positive impact of the Ukraine war is that NATO as an organisation has been galvanised into action.

Despite being indicted by the International Criminal Court, Putin seems not to have become an international pariah and has travelled to China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. EU sanctions have not brought him to his knees as Russia continues to trade through third countries. Furthermore, South Africa has been holding joint naval exercises with Russian and Chinese warships.

It is now being said that some countries do not see Russia’s invasion and brutal actions in Ukraine as so abhorrent after all and consider these were anyway provoked by NATO encroaching too far east towards Russia and thus constituting a perceived threat.

Critics also accuse the US and UK of hypocrisy in protecting Israel at the UN over their action in Gaza and accusations of genocide. Against this background, it is reported that the Balkan states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania now increasingly fear that, if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he will come for them next.

In addition to all this, there are other developments that are contributing to today’s turbulent world – for example, Iran’s supply of drones to Russia to bomb Ukraine and its involvement in the forces arrayed against Israel including support for Houthi forces attacking shipping in the Red Sea, the succession of destabilising military coups in Africa’s Sahel region, North Korea’s support of Russia and China’s malign influence and threat to Taiwan despite the recent apparently successful summit with the US.

Turning to Jacques Delors, for a decade from 1985 he served a record three times as President of the European Commission. Before that, he was Minister of Finance in President Francois Mitterrand’s socialist government in France in the early 1980s.

Arguably, he was the most significant architect and leader of the European project since its emergence after the Second World War to such an extent that he was considered to be the founding father of today’s EU.

Specifically, Delors’s greatest achievement was creation of a single regulated market for goods and services across the EU and the allowance of free movement of people. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher enthusiastically signed up for that. But Delors wanted to go further as he saw the need for a European single currency and a centralised system of governance, saying “national sovereignty no longer means much… we need to be supranational to compete on the world stage”.

Historians say that Jacques Delors displayed his Gallic confidence in centralised government but his ideas about what became termed as ever closer political union towards an EU federal superstate put him on a collision course with many, not least Margaret Thatcher who opposed any idea of such a supranational body exercising new dominance from Brussels. He became a symbol of everything eurosceptics in Britain feared and despised about the great European project and it was the case that, while his ideas about the EU single market met with general approval, his vision of a centralised, federalist bloc found less favour. Meanwhile, public opinion against his socialist ideas gradually grew to the extent that thereafter no European Commission president was allowed to acquire so much power again.

As far as Britain was concerned, it seems that it was the EU’s creeping interference in member states’ national democratic procedures – not least the existing requirement to incorporate EC Directives in their national legislation – that swung the UK’s 2016 referendum in favour of leaving the bloc, albeit by a narrow margin. But Jacques Delors had set the EU on the path towards greater integration to which, of course, it remains wedded to this day.

KING’S CHRISTMAS DAY SPEECH

Throughout The Queen’s long reign, a major part of Christmas for millions was her annual informal address to the nation televised on Christmas Day itself. Broadcast at 3pm, many families ensured their celebratory lunch was over in time to gather, as a time-honoured ritual, in front of the TV to watch “The Queen’s Speech”.

Pre-recorded, the speech was said to have The Queen’s personal stamp on it and she was speaking from the heart about matters of concern to her. It usually covered the main issues of the day and invariably conveyed an inspiring message of encouragement and hope. This practice was started in 1932 by King George V via the radio as a means for the monarch to communicate directly with the people. That year, he broadcast live from Sandringham.

Following this tradition, King Charles has just delivered his second Christmas address since the passing of his mother in September, 2022, that focused on the importance of shared values in time of conflict, with the theme of “Do to others as you would have them do to you”.

He stressed the importance of universal values shared between major religions at a time of what he called increasingly tragic conflict around the world, and of showing compassion towards one another. He also praised the efforts of volunteers for their invaluable contribution to the community, calling them the backbone of society – and he spoke of protecting the planet as a spiritual duty.

In this second such speech, the King wove together some of his most personal causes like building bridges between faiths, protecting the environment and caring for the most vulnerable. It reflected his personal views without taking a political stance and lecturing people. His message was nonetheless direct and clear. To some, this also represented a change of style from The Queen who was inclined to convey her message in more general terms by allusion and inference.

Overall, this new King’s speech appears to have struck the right balance while not shying away from some of the important issues of the day. British people will surely welcome this and find it reassuring in these troubled times.

Happy New Year to all.