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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/16/john-major-trump-us-isolationism-threatens-global-democracy>
"Democracy around the globe is under threat from the retreat of Donald Trump’s
US into isolationism and its likely replacement by China on the world stage,
John Major has said.
The former UK prime minister, who rarely offers direct opinion on contemporary
politics, used an interview with
BBC Radio 4 to say Trump’s administration
was unlike anything he had seen before – and to warn that Washington may live
to regret ceding global leadership to a more autocratic power.
Major, who was in office from 1990 to 1997, also condemned JD Vance, the US
vice-president, as hypocritical and “not statesmanlike” for lecturing Europe on
free speech while “cuddling” Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that democracy is threatened. It’s been in modest
decline for the last 18 years. There’s an ugly nationalism growing mostly from
the intolerant right,” Major said.
“At this particular time the big nations – America, China, Russia – are
beginning to act unilaterally, where once they would have consulted. And that
is a concern, because it does presage the prospect of very great and rather
unpleasant changes.”
Asked about Trump’s administration, Major called it “a form of presidency I
haven’t previously seen”, and he warned against the US president – who appears
to be trying to reach an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by consulting
more closely with the Russian president than Europe – avoiding conceding too
much to Russia.
“Consider what happens if Russia can claim a win,” Major said. “China is going
to notice that, and so will the world, and so will every tin-pot dictator
around the world. If America is not to stand behind its allies in the way the
world has previously seen, then we are moving into a wholly different and, in
my view, rather more dangerous world.”
Major said he feared the US “may now be turning her back on the international
responsibilities she has previously taken, and if she does so there is no other
nation state that can replace them, other than China”.
He added: “That is not something I think the west would certainly wish to see.
And so if that happens, the world, including America, may regret what
subsequently follows.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
