The United States and France - In the name of Ireland, against London

The United States has begun to attack England in the name of Ireland. Dragging along some of its main allies, France and Canada above all. A deeply worrying turn for London, aware of American support for Irish unification, far greater than the scant interest across the Atlantic in Scottish independence. To which is added the centuries-old hostility of France. Interference that in the coming years could bring about the final implosion of the United Kingdom, torn apart by the subversive ambitions of its Celtic peoples.

For the first time in many decades, in mid-June the American embassy in London issued an official rebuke to the British government, accused of creating tensions in Ireland. The reason for this anger is the British failure to apply the Brexit Protocol which, by keeping Northern Ireland in the European single market, provides for checks on goods travelling between Ulster and the rest of the Kingdom, in effect creating two separate fiscal regimes. For its supporters, a necessary measure to avoid the return of a border between Belfast and Dublin. For its critics, the beginning of the end of the United Kingdom.

For the Americans (and the Europeans), the only way to prevent violence flaring up again. For Boris Johnson, a dangerous demand that would provoke retaliation from the unionists. The American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, stepped in on the issue to signal the Biden administration's disappointment. “We urge caution on the government in London, so that it respects the 1998 peace agreements,” he said, making Washington's stern tone plain.

After the United States stepped in, two other important countries spoke out on the matter. During a bilateral meeting with the British prime minister, Emmanuel Macron denied that England and Northern Ireland are in the same country. Pressed by Johnson on the export of sausages and on possible duties between different parts of France, Macron rejected the parallel, invoking the territorial unity of the Hexagon. “What is Johnson talking about? Ulster isn't even in the United Kingdom,” he barked. Significant statements, given the role of protector of the Celtic nations that Paris has played for centuries, with the aim of breaking the cohesion of its bitter English enemy

A dramatic intervention followed by that of the Canadian cabinet, ready to stand up as defender of the protocol between Belfast and London. Hardly a trivial initiative, given that Canada is formally a territory still belonging to the British crown. Developments that point to the delicate moment the United Kingdom is living through, dreaming of Global Britain while the nations within it imagine themselves elsewhere. So much so that Boris Johnson announced he was ready to ignore the protocol once and for all. Clearly struck by the American and French sallies, signs of a situation that could collapse dramatically. Above all, the Biden administration's determination to defend the peace agreements in the medium term could prevent London from crushing the republican ambitions of Northern Irish Catholics. Because while Washington remains lukewarm towards Scottish independence, seen as an excessive impulse, the large Irish component of the American nation finds the current partition of the island incomprehensible and would act harshly against London should it seek to re-establish a hard border between the two territories. And it is on this point that Johnson's current manoeuvre shows its flaws.

Busy relaunching the Kingdom's global reach to distract domestic public opinion and to convince the United States of the usefulness of the Royal Navy, the British prime minister will soon discover that his efforts have been in vain. Ignored by the American state apparatus, inclined to support the Irish cause out of pure sentiment. To which is tied the age-old cunning of France. For a history that will not pass.

Dario Fabbri

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