When Theresa May became prime minister in July last year, it seemed the world was her oyster. As we enter the Trump era however, it seems she is now placed in one of the most difficult positions of any PM in recent history.
Last summer for Mrs May can only be described as a position of strength. Unchallenged within her own party, faced with extraordinarily weak opposition, and finding herself able to settle public cries for leadership.
For the remainder of the year, she managed to ride on rather unscathed. With the coming of the New Year however, it seems Mrs May’s world, as well as our own, has been turned upside down.
Her first minor bump came during the outlining of Brexit. With people still wilfully ignorant that a ‘hard Brexit’ was all Europe would ever allow us anyway, her popularity dwindled.
No matter how we argue the case for Brexit, the UK is symbolically turning its back on Europe, and the PM is naturally forced to bind us closer to allies outside of the continent. If the PM thought that this would be the worst situation she would face in January, she was sadly mistaken.
Cementing ourselves with the U.S., as we have done for so many years, seemed only logical.
With perhaps the most radical first week in modern U.S. history, Mr Trump’s ‘travel ban’ has put Mrs May in a political stalemate: should she condemn the decision of an administration she morally rejects, thereby risking to lose an ally that she strategically needs?
Quite frankly, leaders of the opposition, and everyone sitting behind a keyboard can condemn Mrs May to no end. We can do it easily, freely and with as much vigour as we like. We could even wish for her to have more of Merkel’s steeliness or Hollande’s brashness.
European leaders however now share a bond that, after June 23, we frankly do not. And as Britain turns its back on the continent, Mrs May finds herself in that undesirable position of increasing diplomatic paralysis.
To twist the old phrase, our PM is caught between a wall and hard Brexit. One thing’s for certain, I do not envy her one bit.
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Joseph Howe
I first began writing for Shout Out UK in November 2015 while in my first year at university. In February 2016, while studying at the Charles University of Prague I was appointed SOUK's Politics Columnist. Since then, I have conducted interviews with MPs and civil rights activists from the U.K. and other places in Europe.
Since graduating from the University of Liverpool, I have taught current affairs in two colleges in Vienna, and am about to start a new adventure in the Houses of Parliament. Among other things, I love to travel and enjoy a very hectic social life.
