Has Britain become a completely useless country these days?
Yonden Lhatoo argues that it was wrong of Hong Kong to deny entry this week to a British activist in light of Britain’s diminishing relevance and influence in the international arena
During a heated BBC panel discussion this week on Brexit, an American commentator caused a stir by postulating that Britain was “weak and divided, and relying on old ideas of British greatness”.
A Belgian journalist on the panel ramped up the rhetoric by declaring that Britain was a “completely useless country”.
Worst. Speech. Ever: British PM Theresa May endures prankster and coughing fits before slogan literally falls apart
Critics had a field day ridiculing May, who came across as a leader long past her sell-by date, struggling to finish a stuttering, insipid speech that was interrupted by heckling, coughing fits and even letters of the slogan behind her falling off in a sad display of decrepitude.
We all know that the sun set on the British Empire a long time ago, but how relevant still, really, is Britain on the global stage?
Former foreign secretary Douglas Hurd once famously declared that his country’s military strength allowed it to punch above its weight. That was back in 1993 when Britain was far more relevant to the rest of the world than it is today. Now you have Boris Johnson, nuff said.
Just last year, General Richard Barrons, a former top British military commander, painted a sorry picture for his compatriots, warning that Britain would not be able to protect itself from a full-scale attack by the likes of Russia.
The fact is, Britain still tries to punch above its weight and project itself as a world leader when in reality it no longer has the military or economic clout to back up the assertion.
Britain is a legend in its own mind, and, to a great extent, the world lets it carry on dancing to its delusional beat of grandeur. Like allowing the country to keep its permanent seat in the UN Security Council, a privilege that is obviously based more on legacy than merit.
There used to be a time when Britain’s opinion mattered as much as that of the United States or Europe. The US, for all the jaw-dropping buffoonery with Donald Trump as president, remains the dominant superpower, and the European Union is still a combined force to be reckoned with. But Britain?
Hardly anyone in this city had even heard of him until now. If he had been allowed in without a fuss, Rogers would have met the usual suspects among our colonially hung-up cohorts of self-styled “dissidents”, made the obligatory bleating sounds about not giving up the fight for democracy, and left with barely a ripple in his wake.
Anyone – including last governor Chris Patten – could be barred from Hong Kong, Carrie Lam says
I’d extend that metaphor to put Britain into perspective.
Yonden Lhatoo is the chief news editor at the Post