I’ll keep this short because most of what needs to be said about Trump and Brexit has already been said.
But Trump will not wash out of the US’s hair quite so easily. The USA needs to deal with the fact that it allowed Trump to become President. And not only that, that their system of governance let the whole family infect the White House and without shame, or at least a veil for decency, mix their business interests with Politics. It seems clear to me that the US political system needs root and branch reform if it is to serve this great Country well into the future. This will not happen easily or quickly or without risk.
As for Brexit, I think we need to see this as structural reform. It’s technocratic in nature and it sets a new system of Governance certainly for the UK and almost certainly, as a consequence for the EU. Our system of Governance is probably not fit for the future and so I would like to see more effort going into defining the vision for the UK post Brexit and a deeper reform of our political system to facilitate its realisation. Brexit is an opportunity for the UK to deliver such reform more quickly than would otherwise be possible.
The EU is presently enjoying our self inflicted drunken stagger but it cannot ignore the impact of the UK’s decision on its own project. And the EU has more than monetary and economic problems to solve in the medium term. It needs to decide on further political integration as it accommodates fully the recent expansions. It’s systems of Governance are also not fit for this purpose so they will be reformed. But this will happen painfully slowly given the nature of the beast.
Seen through the lens of a substantial need for structural reform in the US, UK and Europe, what is needed is clear heads and competent technocrats to steer us through. And obviously political leadership of a higher calibrate than we have hitherto enjoyed. If we pull it off, The West can still lead the World as we confront the post digital age challenges. If we falter, others will have their time and the twenty first Century will belong to the lands of the rising sun.
In short, there is a much bigger picture than Trump and Brexit and the US, UK and Europe have a common interest in affecting change. If we spend the next two to three years fussing about Trump's tweets and the difference between hard and soft Brexit, we will simply have delayed more important work.
