by Manoj Ladwa
Theresa May has been brutal in the selection of ministers who will serve in her government. The new British Prime Minister used the opportunity for a widespread cull of ministers who bore any semblance of loyalty to her predecessors.
In keeping with the age-old adage “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”, she appointed bumbling Churchill bhakht (devotee) Boris Johnson to the crucial post of foreign secretary. Boris, amongst his many literary exploits, has recently written a rather fascinating biography of Britain’s war-time PM titled ‘The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History’.
The same Churchill who is on record saying: “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.”
Boris Johnson, who is married to half-Indian Marina Wheeler, has never described India in quite such colourful terms but a lingering Raj hangover is palpable. However, there have been a string of offensive statements directed at other countries and their leaders, which continue to haunt him in his new job.
At his first major press conference last week as head of the UK’s foreign affairs, standing next to the formidable US Secretary of State, John Kerry, Boris cut a sorry picture. He was repeatedly taunted by journalists of his past ridiculous and, at times, racist jibes at world leaders, only to be taught a lesson in artful diplomacy by Kerry who gracefully and substantively answered questions.
At one point Kerry menacingly turned to Boris and said “that’s called diplomacy, Boris”. By then the question on most people’s mind was no longer one of what Boris will next say, but how long will the Brexiteer be able to stay in such a high profile and demanding role. Perhaps, exactly the reason why the wily May gave him the rope? One wonders.
Domestic shenanigans to one side, May’s appointment of BoJo (one of Boris’ political nicknames) will have had Indian diplomats and policy hacks in a tizzy as to what to make of the man. I suppose the best analogy would be akin to Narendra Modi appointing Lalu Prasad Yadav and flambouyant musician Bappi Lahiri jointly as India’s minister for external affairs! At the best of times, the Indian Foreign Service is conservative in words and actions. Even to the point of being accused, rightly in my view, of being overly stuffy. Hence, if Boris is to get any traction beyond filmy headlines in India, he must demonstrate that he is a man of substance and integrity, and will be honest to the shared modern vision that India and the UK have evolved over the past few years.
As a die-hard bhakht of Churchill, Boris celebrates the great man and the British Empire as one would celebrate granny’s 100th birthday. This won’t take him or the UK’s interests with India far, especially at this critical juncture when the UK will press for an early Free Trade Agreement with India, and India is in full listening mode. Significantly, Boris heads a department whose full title is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. And it’s this latter part, an assembly of 53 former British colonies, which he and his fellow Brexiteers, had touted as an alternative World order that the UK must turbo-boost.
In the hands of Boris, there is high risk of this effort crash landing, if he cannot sufficiently detach himself from his tendency to revert to nostalgia at the expense of a clear future road map. India is at best agnostic these days about the Commonwealth. And a Commonwealth without India, its biggest constituent by far and fastest growing economy, will become just a fancy pastime.
The other option for India will be to politely ignore him, and conduct its diplomacy directly with May, who is a much more conventional, and to that extent, predictable politician. Or through Dr Liam Fox, May’s international trade minister, and the gritty Priti Patel, who was promoted to the hugely powerful position of Secretary of State for International Development. Patel has a wide and strategic canvas with a budget of £12 billion to disburse globally (ironically, the amount Brexiteers were arguing they would save from leaving the EU).
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Patel was also Prime Minister Cameron’s ‘Indian Diaspora Champion’, though indications are that the Conservatives may not continue with such an elaborate designation in its dealings with the British Indian community, which they feel is now pretty much on their side. That would be a shame. Perhaps, newly appointed and much deserved junior foreign minister, Alok Sharma, may be the person to step into the broader diaspora role?
Disappointingly however, at a time when May should have been seeking to demonstrate that she absolutely valued the Indian diaspora and its contribution to the UK and as bridge-builders with India, she oddly dumped two British Indian origin ministers – the hugely hardworking and able Shailesh Vara, and the equally enthusiastic Punjabi-born Baroness Sandy Verma. In both cases, an opportunity lost. Especially at a time when discussions with India will be at their most sensitive and intense, requiring both astute minds and above all, empathy – a virtue that BoJo has hazardously lacked thus far.
There may after-all be a role for friends like Vara and Verma to navigate diplomatic channels.
