There is an anecdote reputedly from a German general in the 1930s about the leadership qualities of his officers. General Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord, the chief of the German Army at the time, once said that he divided his officers into four classes: the clever, the industrious, the lazy, and the stupid. Each officer always possesses two of these qualities. Those who are clever and industrious he appointed to the General Staff. He thought that under certain circumstances he could use those who are both stupid and lazy. The ones destined for the highest positions were those who were clever and lazy. Finally, he got rid of the stupid and industrious as being far too dangerous.
I think you could develop a similar case for other qualities. People, as we all know, possess a certain amount of self-confidence while others are constantly racked by doubts about themselves.
The politicians I would ditch are those who are stupid and full of self-confidence for they too are dangerous. Donald Trump is perhaps the greatest ever example, living or dead. He is always pushing at the outer limits of ignorance and stupidity but has a planet-sized ego and oozes self-confidence. He is never, ever wrong in his own mind.
But he is not alone. Lord Hannan isn't far behind. It's hard to recall many others who have been so wrong about so many important questions over such a long period and still manage to obtain gainful employment. And not just that, newspapers reward him handsomely for his unerring ability to miss the point or fail to see the obvious flaws in his own understanding and arguments.
You may have see his latest effort in the pages of The Telegraph. The headline says it all really: The UK has the whip hand in negotiations with the EU – it’s a shame our leaders don’t realise it.
He lists some things that he claims would benefit both the EU and the UK, such as mutual recognition of professional qualifications, an energy pact, and Britain copying the EU's carbon tax to avoid businesses being lured from the continent.
Gains from these things in Britain would in Hannan's opinion be "dwarfed by gains to the EU."
And therefore, he goes on, "The UK, in diplomatic parlance, is not the demandeur. Yet Eurocrats treat Starmer’s proposals as pleas, to be answered only if Britain gives something in return. Tragically, some of our own negotiators are so traumatised by Brexit that they see it the same way
Demandeur means the applicant, the supplicant even, the one asking or making demands. Who is the demandeur then? I don't see VdL or Macron or Scholz talking about 'resetting the relationship' or 'turning a corner' or giving any hint of wanting to 'tear down unnecessary trade barriers.' No EU leaders are coming to London on a charm offensive.
It is blindingly obvious who the demandeur is, but not to him. And as usual, he tells the EU what's good for them.
Hannan ends with this:
"Instead of pressing our noses disconsolately against the window, we should let the EU come to us with proposals for closer economic links. And we should have our own counter-demands ready – starting with the dismantling of needlessly intrusive checks in Northern Ireland. But, for Labour, this is less about practical objectives than about a deep psychological need to atone for Brexit. Which is, if you think about it, the worst possible frame of mind in which to approach negotiations."
Trade talks on post-Brexit economic links only ended three years ago and most people think the EU got a pretty good deal while we are still in the process of implementing our side of the bargain mostly driven by fears about what will happen when Brexit is fully in place.
Yes, there are complaints from EU businesses that trade has become more difficult but with a domestic market of 450 million they have plenty of other outlets for their produce. Here in the UK, businesses in every sector are tearing their hair out at the barriers erected by Frost/Johnson and co when they were in government, ably supported by Hannan.
We would have to wait a very long time for the EU to come to us with proposals for closer economic links, we had the closest possible links before Brexit but gave it up for a few baubles known as sovereignty.
Hannan wants negotiations to start on reducing trade barriers to our mutual benefit and I suppose that is the most telling thing. Britain's return to the EU is just a matter of time.
