"Donald Trump has told the Davos economic forum without us, most countries would not even work, but for the first time in decades, many western leaders have come to the opposite conclusion: they will function better without the US. Individually and collectively, they have decided to live in truth the phrase used by the Czech dissident Vaclav Havel and referenced by the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, in his widely praised speech at Davos on Tuesday."
"Just as the greengrocer in Havel's story took down the sign in the shop window praising the communist empire and started to tell the truth about the sham in which he had been living, so leaders of some of the west's liberal middle powers appear intent on shedding the collective lie about the continued value of a partnership with the US."
Many Western leaders conclude they can function better without the United States after Donald Trump's Davos remarks and tariff threats undermined trust. Leaders invoke Vaclav Havel’s phrase 'live in truth' and Mark Carney signals an end to nostalgia for the old world. Collective denial of US reliability now gives way to an acceptance that the old western alliance and a rules-based order are eroding. Trump's half-withdrawn threat to invade Greenland and praise for tariffs to intimidate allies broke taboos around denying him leadership of the free world. Some liberal middle powers are shedding the collective lie about partnership value with the US.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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