Emmanuel Macron made an honest effort at mediating on the more pressing issues facing the planet. But in the end he must contend with the fact that the US top-heavy talk shop has become a dull instrument for effecting change.
As the G7 leaders enjoyed a dinner inside a restored lighthouse overlooking the glitzy seaside town of Biarritz, they were probably hoping to evoke an image of mastery and control over a world gone bonkers. The reality, however, was that of seven well-heeled passengers – Italy, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, the UK and the US – tossed into a tempestuous sea from a sinking vessel without a lifeboat.
Even Donald Trump, not known for acknowledging many shortcomings, appeared to be shaken despite the golden croissants. For example, when asked by a reporter if he had any second thoughts about escalating the trade war with Beijing, the US leader responded, “Yeah. For sure.” He added, “I have second thoughts about everything.”
First picture of Boris Johnson meeting President Trump. Provide your own caption. pic.twitter.com/mVJUgWJDZQ
As part of Trump’s campaign to ‘make America great again’, he has embarked upon a dangerous trade war with Beijing that threatens to go ‘nuclear’ as both sides resort to tit-for-tat tariffs and tough talk. Indeed, global financial markets reel every time Trump and Xi Jinping exhale air. As expected, the global markets did a back-flip when Trump told a news conference after the summit, “China wants to make a deal, and if we can, we will make a deal.”
Judging by Trump’s brash, off-the-cuff remarks in the past, however, many were left wondering if this was just more of the mogul’s trademark bluff and bluster. Was the king of the 280-character verbal assault attempting to secure cheap political points ahead of 2020 by declaring everything peachy in the global village?
Hard to tell, but that question tells us everything that is wrong about the G7. And no, the main problem is not Donald Trump, as the malevolent media would have everyone believe.
The problem is that the G7 has become so exclusive and wine-sipping elitist that it has become inherently antagonistic to the very spirit of globalization. In other words, China, short of actual membership, needed to have some sort of real, on the ground, representation during the three-day pow-wow. The fact that it did not demonstrates the dismal failure of the G7 as an effective instrument for addressing serious issues.
Great respect for the fact that President Xi & his Representatives want “calm resolution.” So impressed that they are willing to come out & state the facts so accurately. This is why he is a great leader & representing a great country. Talks are continuing!https://t.co/0sotrd1Mzh
The very same could be said of Russia, an erstwhile member that has suffered untold indignities in the two-year American witch hunt known as ‘Russiagate’. Now that that story has been quietly tucked away as the conspiracy theory of the century, Trump said he would gladly invite Vladimir Putin to next year’s G7 summit as guest of honor. Needless to say, that remark will not resonate very well in Western capitals, where an anti-Russia mindset has taken hold like a virus.
In addition to extending an invitation to Putin, Trump said he would consider Russia’s reinstatement into the G7 “very favorably.”
“There were a lot of things that we were discussing and it would have been easy if Russia were in the room,” the US leader told reporters on Monday. “Yesterday we were discussing four or five matters, and Russia was literally involved in all of those… matters.”
It’s unfortunate that Trump didn’t say the same thing about China’s possible membership.
In any case, all this talk about “reinstating Russia” comes off as extremely presumptuous, as if Russia desperately wants back into the club of “liberal democracies.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Russia, a full-fledged member of BRICS, a surging economic bloc in its own right that includes Brazil, India, China and South Africa, is doing quite well for itself without G7 membership. And unlike the Western variety, the BRICS have not been guilty of wreaking havoc around the planet with regime-change operations, but rather following a steady course of economic development.
At the same time, let’s not forget about the G20, a much more inclusive international talk shop that doesn’t leave the same aftertaste of a caviar and cocktail party for the rich and powerful. Why not start by expanding membership in that organization?
It must be said that Emmanuel Macron did make some efforts of ‘democratic representation’ at his exclusive seaside salon. This came in the form of a surprise visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who arrived Sunday for talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.
The US’ reason for designating me is that I am Iran’s “primary spokesperson around the world” Is the truth really that painful? It has no effect on me or my family, as I have no property or interests outside of Iran. Thank you for considering me such a huge threat to your agenda.
The invitation was a particularly ballsy move by Macron, who is looking to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal between the United States, Europe, Iran and Russia after Trump withdrew from the agreement last year.
Following his high-level meetings, which included a meeting on the sidelines with Macron, Zarif admitted that the “Road ahead is difficult. But worth trying.”
Emmanuel Macron naturally chalked up Zarif’s visit as a success, but in hindsight it appeared to be more grandstanding for public consumption, not to mention ruffling Trump’s feathers. The same could be said for the way Macron fumbled the ball on the fires that are ravaging Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. Instead of inviting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to the French affair, Macron spoke about ways of tackling the fires without ever mentioning Brazil or the president. That sort of arrogance, which carries faint echoes of colonialism, won’t work any longer on the global stage.
Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rain forest – the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire. It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let’s discuss this emergency first order in two days! #ActForTheAmazonpic.twitter.com/dogOJj9big
In any event, the French leader practically admitted defeat even before the G7 began when he said the group would not be issuing a joint communiqué for the first time in the summit’s 44-year history.
Although it is easy to blame Donald Trump and his unpredictable ways for that decision – last year he abruptly withdrew US endorsement of the G7 statement after a spat over trade with Canada’s Justin Trudeau, who was the host – Macron’s move points to more disturbing conclusions about the future of the G7.
Europe has for many years been pulled inexorably into America’s geopolitical orbit, and this trend is not about to change with a three-day summit. The G7 in Biarritz has concluded with all of the diplomatic smiles and handshakes and pledges of goodwill. However, at the end of the day everyone understands perfectly well that the United States has its own agenda, and it’s one that seems to be completely at odds with the European variety.
There is a deadly dynamic at play in Washington that has placed the nation on a path of war and military expansion, as can be witnessed by its recent withdrawal from both the ABM and INF treaties and concomitant aggressive thrust into Eastern Europe and Asia, moves that have certainly not gone unnoticed by Russia and China. In that sense too, the G7 is simply too limited a format for addressing major global issues, many of which center around the US, Russia and China.
Emmanuel Macron seems to have understood that new reality when he spoke on Tuesday of the need for Europe to reach out to Russia and “embrace each other again.” @Robert_Bridge
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