Steve McGookinG7 sunk by Brexit blame game
Boris Johnson’s first chance as PM to host world leaders and display his concept of “Global Britain” this week in Cornwall ended up being, to put it kindly, a missed opportunity as post-Brexit tensions surfaced with the issue of Northern Ireland yet again at the centre of a diplomatic blame game, or what TD Neale Richmond described as a “jingoistic word salad”.
But hey, this should sort it all out, no bother…
Despite being thrown a symbolic life preserver by US President Joe Biden, the Prime Minister ratcheted up the rhetoric over the potential trade dispute, referred to as the “sausage wars”, as other important issues such as climate change were overshadowed.
William Keegan wrote in The Guardian that the G7 “had its energy sapped by Brexit” and that “a summit crucial to the issue of climate change is instead mired in disentangling the mess of Britain’s exit from the EU.”
Biden, meanwhile, tried to rally the G7 leaders towards a united front to counter China..
Meanwhile…
He now heads to Brussels for a Nato meeting before finishing his first foreign trip as President in Geneva with the much-anticipated debut summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Addressing US troops this week, Biden said he would be telling Putin “what I want him to hear.”
It was Putin, however, who got to tell the American people what he wanted them to hear, in a sit-down interview with NBC.
World Leaders Gather Under Covid’s Relentless Shadow
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Israel ousts defiant Netanyahu after 12 years
A special session of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, voted 60-59 on Sunday evening to endorse a new government headed by nationalist Naftali Bennett, who will become Prime Minister for two years before handing over to his coalition partner, centrist Yair Lapid. The vote brings to an end the 12-year tenure of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The longest-serving leader in the country’s history did not go quietly, while the change of government comes at a time of continuing regional uncertainty.
See Also:
Israel Poised For Anti-Netanyahu Coalition
Diplomacy To Address Gaza Crisis
Could Israel Bid Farewell To Bibi?
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Vaccine inequality still hampers Covid recovery
As the G7 ended, world leaders promised a billion vaccine doses for the world’s poorer countries, half of which would come from the US and would be supplied either directly or through the World Health Organization’s Covax scheme.
One of the best science journalists to turn to for an understanding of the “big picture” on Covid over the past year and beyond, Ed Yong, won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting this week. You can read some of his work here:
In the UK, it looks increasingly likely that there will be a delay to the government’s planned June 21 date for the removal of remaining Covid restrictions as a result of the spread of the so-called Delta Variant, which has now been detected widely across Northern Ireland.
Van Morrison, meanwhile, doubled down on his bizarre rant against Health Minister Robin Swann from the stage of the Europa Hotel this week, accompanied by Ian Paisley Jr.
See Also:
Lobbying For Lung Health In The Time Of Covid
Leaders Need To Lead – The NI Executive And Covid-19
Post-Pandemic NI: Should I Stay Or Go?
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NI faces another fraught political week
With First Minister Arlene Foster likely set for a personal statement at the Assembly on Monday to confirm arrangements for her stepping down, Northern Ireland seems in for another fraught political week.
Meanwhile, her farewell banter tour continued at the British-Irish Council meeting on Friday.
As Paul Givan prepares to take up the top job, Sara Creighton explains how the “stage is set for political drama.”
“When Foster resigns as first minister,” she writes, “the DUP must nominate her replacement within seven days. O’Neill must also be confirmed deputy first minister at the same time. If Sinn Féin feels like sending a message to the DUP, it could refuse to re-nominate. If an Executive can’t be formed, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland in Westminster must call an election.”
But John Manley of the Irish News writes that “both parties are determined to avoid the ‘nuclear button’ and that a collapse of the institutions, similar to that surrounding the RHI scandal in 2017, has been ruled out due to the challenges posed by Covid and what one Stormont source described as ‘housekeeping in both parties’.”
While the latest opinion poll findings may offer some temporary respite for Unionists, the spectre of loyalist unrest amid uncertainty over Brexit still persists heading into the upcoming marching season.
Finally, among local people recognized in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List was Irish language campaigner Linda Ervine, who described her MBE award for services to her community as a “lovely surprise.”
See Also:
What Happens If Alliance Comes Second?
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Eriksen ‘stable’ after harrowing cardiac emergency
The world held its breath for several agonising minutes on Saturday after the Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during his country’s opening game in the Euros against Finland.
Gabriele Marcotti at ESPN wrote that Eriksen’s collapse was “a reminder of the fragility of life.”
“That’s when those who are blessed with faith — and some who aren’t — pray. Or put their faith in reason and knowledge and the skill of those working to save Eriksen’s life. Or both. In those moments, waiting for updates, many of us wondered about the cruelty of it all. This tournament, originally scheduled for last summer, was supposed to be a continent’s first baby step on the way back to some semblance of normality, the first light of dawn after the long nightmare we’ve endured — and continue to endure.”
Medical staff performed CPR before he was taken to hospital where he is reported to be in stable condition.
For many, Saturday’s incident certainly put football in some perspective. “Denmark Lose. Life Wins” was the headline of a Danish paper on Sunday. Hard to argue with that.
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See Also Last Week’s Five Points:
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