Is it G-20 or G-19 plus 1?

Final statement of moot is going to have to include US position, but at same time reflect unity of other nations

The wisdom of German Chancellor Angela Merkel deciding to hold the G-20 summit in the city of Hamburg rather than a rural retreat surrounded by trees may be seen as questionable. Rioters have converged bent on mayhem. Cars and buildings set alight. The police and protesters injured in clashes, and meanwhile the usually grey and stolid business that is international relations is getting the shake-up of a lifetime. Millions of lifetimes. The man doing the shaking is Donald Trump, the American president, and at the time of writing his position on climate change and withdrawal from the 2016 Paris Climate Change Agreement is a major stumbling block. The crafting of a statement at the end of the moot is going to have to include the American position, but at the same time reflect the unity of the other 19 nations.

Assorted ‘dramas’ that had been talked up by the world’s media turned into something less. The lengthy meeting between Putin and Trump appears to have produced a ceasefire in Syria that commences on Sunday 9^th July. The positioning at table, the who-sat-where speculations were fevered. Every nuance of body language and handshake was examined in forensic detail. Analysts opined across the channels with a split between those that saw Trump as owning the narrative — and those that did not and saw him as a figure marching blindfold to the margins. There were ruminations about trade wars and protectionism and there will be a bland and anodyne coda in which pictures of a ravaged Hamburg city centre will be the backdrop.

This was a gathering of the 20 most powerful states in the world, each with its own interests that do not necessarily mesh with other states at the table. It may be argued that this is a pointless exercise and a profligate waste of money as so little in precise terms is going to be achieved; but if there is a single take-away it is that America is not the power it was. For which we thank President Trump.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2017.

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