In Osaka, the G20 summit takes a back seat to the Donald Trump show
- The relevance of the forum is again in question, and not just because of the US president’s headline-making meetings with other leaders. It’s time to pare down the unwieldy talkfest to make it a gathering of consequence
Surely, it is beyond high time for sensible leaders – if there are any – to come together to replace this costly, wasteful showpiece with something that works.
Trump’s choice of friends and enemies is strange. America’s traditional allies, including France, Germany and even host Japan, have suffered from Trump’s demands that they bow to him and take more American goods. There is a huge disconnect between Trump’s claims that the American economy is a latter-day Garden of Eden and his constant carping that allies are taking advantage.
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Common sense would have seen the trade truce announced long before, so that the Osaka summit could stimulate discussion of myriad global trade, economic and political and social issues, not least the threat to the Earth’s existence from climate change.
Osaka G20 ended with broadsides from Putin against liberalism and immigration, and his claim that “the liberal idea is eating itself”. So what is the point of Russia attending a global meeting? With next year’s G20 scheduled for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, it is surely time to consider a better constructed forum to tackle burning issues.
The city of Osaka, with over 2 million people, was disrupted for more than a week, and normal life in the central area was brought to a standstill, just so the leaders could go to the vast warehouse exhibition complex for two days to grandstand their views, largely for domestic audiences.
The so-called G20 is not 20, but the G19 plus the heads of the European Union Commission and the EU Council, plus Spain, also in the EU, as permanent guest, plus other guests, plus heads of an alphabet soup of international organisations.
Surely it is time to get serious and simplify. Go back to the original idea when the world’s top leaders got together to discuss common problems without fanfare.
Revamp the G7 by adding China and India, include the EU, but get rid of France, Germany, Italy and the UK, as they currently have a voice through the EU, add the UN secretary general, the IMF as global financial watchdog, and one representative each from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.
Kevin Rafferty has been attending IMF, Apec, G5, G7, G8 and G20 meetings since 1976