As always with the Sunak government, it is impossible to keep up. It is barely four days since David Cameron, the newly installed foreign secretary, said that he wanted to build closer ties with the European Union. Many people had been deeply sceptical of the former prime minister’s return given his dreadful foreign policy track record, what with his disastrous intervention in Libya, cozying up to China and a series of epic misjudgments in European policy that resulted in Brexit. Nonetheless, Cameron’s comments appeared to indicate a further step towards normalised relations with the country’s closest neighbours and allies after the damaging populist nonsense of the last seven years. Perhaps the grown-ups really were back in charge.
That comforting thought lasted until yesterday evening when it emerged that Rishi Sunak had cancelled a scheduled meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister, due to take place today. That was an extraordinary snub to an important ally. Downing Street is blaming Mitsotakis, claiming that he had broken an agreement not to discuss the Parthenon Sculptures while he was in the country. Sunak also appears to have been irked that Mitsotakis had met with Sir Keir Starmer on Monday night.
Neither explanation stands up to scrutiny. Athens denies that any such assurances were given and in any case the decision to cancel the meeting came nearly 36 hours after Mitsotakis, in response to a question in a BBC interview, simply repeated the position of every Greek government for the last 40 years. Meanwhile Downing Street will have known of the Greek PM’s schedule days in advance. Nor can it have been surprised that, with Labour currently sitting on a 20-point poll lead a year ahead of an election, a world leader would want to meet with the likely next prime minister.
Culture Warriors
It seems clear that Sunak has deliberately picked a fight with Misotakis, whether out of a fit of pique or in a desperate attempt to reignite a culture war to revive his party’s dismal poll ratings. It is hard to know which is worse. To deepen the insult, Mitsotakis was offered a meeting with Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, instead. That gesture appeared to be calculated to signal that the twice-elected Mitsotakis, who has delivered a remarkable economic turnaround during his five years in office and is one of the most respected centre right leaders in the European Union, is somehow inferior to Sunak, the unelected, unpopular leader of a floundering government with no significant political achievements to his name.
How does any of this fit with Cameron’s plans to seek closer ties with the European Union? Was the foreign secretary consulted before Sunak decided to torch relations with Athens? Did Cameron advise the PM that this was a sensible way to treat an ally? Or did Sunak ignore Cameron’s advice, or even forget to ask his opinion? There is no answer that does not leave Cameron looking diminished - and the British government once again looking unserious and untrustworthy.
At a time when Britain needs to work with partners on a range of dossiers, from tackling illegal migration, to confronting Russia over Ukraine, to seeking improvements to Boris Johnson’s damaging Brexit deal, Sunak has alienated what should have been one of his closest allies in the European Union. As with last week’s cynical Autumn statement, in which taxes were cut on the basis of implausible future spending cuts, and the latest reports that Sunak is refusing to allow the civil service to talk to the Labour party about its future plans, it looks as if once again the prime minister is putting party politics above the national interest.
As to whether this show of petulance will deliver Sunak any political benefit, it is hard to see. The British public increasingly appears to have made up its mind that the Parthenon Sculptures belong in Athens, where they can be displayed alongside the rest of the frescoes in the magnificent purpose-built Acropolis Museum. Polls show a majority of Britons now support the return of the marbles. Besides, thanks to the wonders of 3D printing, it is now possible to make an exact replica using the same marble, which could be housed in the British Museum. All that Sunak has done is to draw further attention to his weakness and lack of judgement.
Indeed, Sunak’s embarrassing behaviour may serve only to increase support for returning the sculptures to where they rightly belong. But, of course, that moment will now have to wait for the arrival of a Labour government, as will the restoration of Britain’s historically close relationship with Greece.
Well said.
Paradoxically, the furore has created the level of publicity for the issue that Sunak was presumably seeking to avoid. Utterly crass decision.