So what does the name tee2i mean?
Well it's shorthand for the independence index. This blog takes independence seriously. There's no problem, in principle, with a country being part of a confederation or partnership, the UK is part of NATO. But the EU is a failing confederation and our independence was threatened by membership, so we voted to leave. There's also the independence of thought which must, obviously, lead to free speech. The popularity of cancel culture must be challenged. Also politics is more than about leaning left or rightward on any issue, it's far more subtle than that. It's all down to the quality of life so let's aim high. It's our right to do so.
5 in a row
The demise of UK politics over the last 12 years.
David Cameron
The present Government gives us the fifth PM in 12 years. However, 12 years in power seem to have exhausted both the Conservatives and public alike. Rather than growing stronger over time they have become weaker. But it’s not just the Conservatives as all political parties represented in Parliament have followed the Conservatives into weakness. It goes further in that all public servants have joined in this demise.
You may have noticed that we have another PM as the last one resigned. The new one is called Rishi Sunak, has been in post 6 weeks and we'll take a look at him later. You may have also noticed that things are not going well for us here in the UK and more on that later too. The outgoing PM Liz Truss had to sack her Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng. But what did he do? Well he did what she told him to do! He had been in post for 38 days and the turn-around in his fortunes and by implication those of Truss, who served for 49 days, are remarkable.
Theresa May
So how did all this start? Brexit is not to blame for where we find ourselves and Michel Barnier, the EU’s Chief Brexit negotiator, has gone on record to say so. Even so there is an opportunity for those people who will never accept the Brexit result to gather themselves up for a fight.
The war - Part Two - Developments
Time to admit a 'win' is unlikely.
Worlds largest gun, see below
In Part Two it was our intention to look at some of the people involved in the response to the war in Ukraine. It was a short list: Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Boris Johnson. However, now Johnson has resigned things have changed and the new PM, Liz Truss, has been chosen by the Conservative party. She has an opportunity to alter the way the UK responds to the war, we don’t know whether this will happen but for the moment we will carry on with this post.
First we look at Macron, he has been criticised for making contact with Putin, this has been described as weak. In time the war may reach a point where formal peace negotiation can begin, then perhaps the position of Macron changes as he will have a leading role. We may assume this is what he wants; but is this right? Probably yes as he put the effort into getting to such a position. Macron would most likely share this role with Erdogan from Turkey, also Finland and Sweden. The latter two who renounced neutrality following the invasion of Ukraine would be consulted. It will be interesting to see the role of the UK here. Post invasion under Johnson the UK took a rather belligerent approach to Russia. This we will return to later.
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And so to the war - Part One - Introduction
It's time to talk about the war.
A WW1 battlefield.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th Feb 2022 so we have been watching this for four months now. This would not be the first war in the region and it could be said the origins of the present conflict go back to 2014 at least. The history of this part of the world is complex and countries from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea have fought each other over centuries. There have also been alliances which have been formed and dissolved long before the EU or NATO came along. So it’s easy to see why Putin thinks that he has a right to revisit the past and claim that parts of Ukraine ‘belong’ to Russia. To get a better understanding we have to look at things from the point of view of Putin. The EU thinks that not only should it have, ‘an ever closer union’ among member states but it should be always expanding too. Putin objects to this. In the same we here in, ‘the West’, saw it as our duty to resist the spread of Communism prior to the Berlin Wall coming down so Putin sees he has a, ‘duty’, to Russia. Indeed one can imagine that while many people have forgotten the reunification of Germany following the removal of the Berlin Wall Putin would be word perfect on that subject. He has his own beliefs that are also dynamic. Hence the old well worn trope of, we are good, but, ‘Russia is bad’ is misplaced.
The Big Dog Story
The big what? Yes you may well ask.
The big dog story!
This is all about the PM who is in a bit of trouble, or perhaps a lot of trouble. We have written at great length about the problems of the Conservative party. But the root of all the troubles for the PM now is Covid which has tested those who would govern us to their limits. Because of this we are supposed to feel sorry for them. No, they wanted the job and they got it. Much of the failure of Government policy on Covid and the failure of parliament to scrutinize this is not down to some awful bad luck but poor judgement. The Conservative party under David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson has been weak and muddled. Throughout this time in office they had opportunity to prepare, but they did not. So, to deal with the current troubles that beset the PM the Downing Street team had a plan. A fight back organised by his loyal staff, the name of this plan was reported as: ‘save big dog’. Although in the best tradition of official denial when asked No10 said they did not, ‘recognise’ this. Well they don’t have to do they? But then any organisation coming up with that name and the other equally naff offering, ‘Operation Red Meat’, should keep a very low profile.
A Tale of Two Leaders
Comparing Angela Merkel and Boris Johnson.
Just an old Prussian tradition So it’s auf wiedersehen to Angela Merkel who left office recently, she was Chancellor of Germany for 16 years. Back in 2005 it was a very different world, we had Tony Blair as our PM, in the USA George W Bush was President while Jacques Chirac held that role in France. Even so it’s worth looking at Merkel’s rise and departure and assessing her legacy. The latter is an unhealthy obsession with all leaders now and seems to dominate their time in office. We see this with Johnson on a regular basis during the two years he has been PM. With Merkel now gone from office we shall see if the eulogising of her continues and make no mistake here, for throughout her political life she could rely on a level of praise from the liberal left who adored her that came close to worship. It’s at this point we should note that this did not happen with Johnson, his rise to fame was very different. These people who praised Merkel did so not for what she did but for simply being the Chancellor of Germany. So will we see the adulation give way to a more critical analysis? Yes some people have been critical and their criticism goes back a long way, see HERE and HERE. Generally speaking she got an easy ride but did she deserve it?
