The Kingdom is no longer that! Margaret, Tony, David… please come back

(B2 back from Bratislava) At a time when some are lamenting the fate of Europe (in a "critical" state according to Angela Merkel), I am personally concerned about the health of Her Britannic Majesty's Kingdom. The Crown spins a very bad cotton.

A summit at '27' is organized in Bratislava. And London remains silent. No reaction. Nothing, not even a little provocative statement, an offbeat trip, a punchy conference. But where did the grain of madness and humor go, a conquering and arrogant nothing, which makes all the charm of the British (whom we like...despite everything).

In other times, with Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and even with David Cameron, we would have had the right to a noisy British offensive, to drown, with commiseration, the little European fish and bring all the media and political attention back to the greatness of the Kingdom.

Imagine...

Margaret Thatcher would have organized a large summit in London for all the leaders of the Commonwealth, with ceremony and dinner at Buckingham Palace, with formal visit to the Queen, military parade and aerial parade of Red Arrows included, just to show that the world has its eyes turned towards a single point.

Tony Blair would have shown up, all the same in Bratislava, organizing in the national theater a meeting with philosophers, writers and former political leaders of the region (Gorbachev included), inviting in passing several ministers and European leaders to come and debate with him, the very day before from the summit, just to soap up the media board. All crowned with a great concert with Eric Clapton, Elton John, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and other pop rock stars across the Channel.

David Cameron would have spent the whole week, in the capitals, or on the telephone (photos and video in support), to be able to take advantage of having vetoed the European army project. The conclusions would have given him reason (without even fighting since this subject did not appear in the conclusions! (1). And on September 16, just to drive the nail into the European coffin, he would have moved with a pack of journalists on the front line in eastern Ukraine to discuss with the leaders of the Ukrainian troops engaged on the front, the OSCE observers and the Russian general commanding the area...

Theresa's absence?

There nothing, nothing, nothing. I am worried, very worried. The Kingdom is amorphous, withdrawn into its negative referendum. Even the site of Downing Street is completely silent on the activities of the tenant of the "Dix" on September 16. What was Theresa May doing after her interview with the Prince of Qatar? Was she at the hairdresser or did she spend the whole day preparing for her speech and her visit to Balmoral, the royal residence (this weekend). In any case, the United Kingdom was totally absent on the day of the Bratislava summit.

Wake up ! 

The hour is serious, the moment is critical... I am worried about the future of European journalism. Who is going to host the summit meetings tomorrow if there are no English (or Scots) left to stir up trouble. This is one of the invisible consequences of Brexit, underestimated by many commentators: the departure of the United Kingdom will deprive us of the formidable talents of leaders of European summits, which only the British knew how to lead from start to finish, like a good melodrama: with a beginning (the initiating controversy), the middle (the climax of the negotiation) and the conclusion (the victory, of course British, by knockout over Europe). The Bratislava meeting proved it, with its mortal boredom. A Boïko Borissov, a Viktor Orban and even a Matteo Renzi cannot match the provocative firepower of a alter ego British.

(NGV)

(1) Remember, December 2013, David Cameron sounds the (heroic) charge...