ANALYSIS: Macron and EU propelled onto world stage as Starmer watches from sidelines
by David Wilcock
Keir Starmer handed Emmanuel Macron and the EU a rare gift today: a platform to look big on the international military stage.
Normally overshadowed by the NATO alliance, the bloc has capitalised after the Prime Minister gambled that Cyprus would be spared an attack by Iran – and lost.
A Royal Navy warship could have been in the eastern Mediterranean flying the flag before last Sunday’s attack on RAF Akrotiri that left a U2 spy plane hangar damaged and spooked locals.
But Starmer decided to wait and see, which is far cheaper and likely to make Rachel Reeves happy.
He was caught out, leaving the Cypriot president to appeal to EU allies for help in what should be the UK’s back yard.
The result was Macron today getting a hug from the Cypriot president and swaggering and boasting that France and others – Italy, Spain and the Netherlands – would step in with a multinational armada to do what the UK could or would not.
The president then rubbed it in, saying France is also planning to send warships to the Gulf to protect oil tankers.
In total, Macron said France would deploy up to a dozen vessels, more than the UK can currently put to sea at all.
This all helps Macron, who faces a presidential election challenge from the far right next year, look strong.
At the same time, Sir Keir was having a cup of tea in a London community centre and talking about the cost of living – perhaps a shrewd move ahead of local elections in May and with the oil price spiking.
But it comes less than a year after he claimed ‘Britain is back on the world stage’.
While blame for the state of the Royal Navy, with barely any surface vessels or submarines fit to sail, is shared by many parties, it is undeniable that Britain looks far from back today.
