Falkland Islands

Wednesday

Madeline Grant

Britain is entering its Rococo period

From our UK edition

There were many reasons why John Ruskin hated Rococo. The overly decorated style was a bête noire for the great architectural critic because he thought it the supreme example of excess and by its excess it concealed its true meaning. We are in an era of British life which I can only think of as ‘late Rococo incompetence’. The excess of bad news, government ineptitude and baffling decisions made by the state is now so great that we are struck dumb, incapable of meaningful reaction. The news cycle abounds with evidence of this tidal wave of depressing or destructive acts. The sheer number of hideous stories has desensitised us.

Wednesday

Madeline Grant

America is not our friend

From our UK edition

Imagine, if you will, King Charles in the Deep South. The aesthetics are easy enough: it doesn’t take much to picture His Majesty in crumpled linen, Her Majesty the right side of a large mint julep. But imagine if, in Richmond, Virginia, Charleston or New Orleans, His Majesty makes an off-the-cuff comment about how good it would be if the territories he was speaking in seceded from the United States and that it would be ‘a very great thing’ if claims of the Confederacy were honoured. His Majesty, in a show of tact, acknowledges that Washington D.C. might be a little miffed, but does so with a chuckle. After all, everyone knows that the aspirations of the US are old hat anyway. Except of course the King didn’t do that. He went to Washington and was the epitome of grace and charm.

Wednesday

Charles Moore

Where have all the Normans gone?

From our UK edition

Does Britain understand where Javier Milei’s move on the Falklands is heading? It is becoming clearer that, behind the nationalist bluster, he sees a real energy opportunity, and, from Argentina’s point of view, a threat. Milei argues that if drilling proceeded, as the Falklanders want, Britain would be able to seize offshore Argentine oil resources. This allows him to present the issue as one of national security on which his country needs to act. The British government line is low-key: the matter ‘is decided by the Falkland Islands people’ and the government ‘is absolutely supportive of the decision’. But is it aware of the degree of its responsibility?

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Britain sanctions Jewish settlements, Dover protests erupt and the AfD wins big

From our UK edition

Home Ed Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, set out in the Commons new restrictions on buying goods made in Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The government, he said, ‘agrees’ there is ethnic cleansing in areas of the West Bank, carried out by ‘settler terrorists’. France, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden would impose similar sanctions. Israel announced as a ‘counter-measure’ the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem. Hundreds of protestors, dressed in black and wearing face coverings, blocked roads at Dover on Saturday, some chanting: ‘Stop the boats.

Friday

Freddy Gray

The oil field at the heart of Milei’s Falklands threat

If Andy Burnham, Britain’s new and surprisingly well-liked Prime Minister, were looking for another quick popularity boost, he might decide to order the deployment of a flotilla of Royal Navy vessels towards the South Atlantic today – so as to warn the Argentinians off the Falkland Islands. A good bit of gunship diplomacy is exactly what Britain needs at this point in history. Nothing would delight the public more than sticking one up the Argies again, especially after the England football team lost to a particularly unpleasant Argentinian side in the World Cup this summer. Of course, Burnham will not channel his inner Margaret Thatcher when it comes to the Falklands. Partly that’s because his entire political mission is to undo the harms of Thatcherism.