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Waiting for another US election
As Starmer began to build his relationship with Washington, there was an inescapable fact that he had no idea with whom he would be dealing for most of his term.
It is the first time since 1992 that a British general election will be held just a few months before the presidential vote on the other side of the Atlantic.
That could hinder any major investment in the transatlantic relationship until U.S. voters decide in November.
On the surface, Starmer’s left-wing Labour Party might welcome a Democratic victory in November. In addition to not having to deal with a presidential transition, the two parties would be more ideologically aligned; Starmer has also expressed admiration for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Similarly, the British government’s incoming foreign secretary, David Lammy, has publicly disparaged Republican Donald Trump in the past, calling him a “misogynistic sociopath with neo-Nazi sympathies” and a “huge threat to the international order.”
However, the dynamic of the relationship between a prime minister and a president often depends more on personality than sheer ideological affinity. While Tony Blair of the Labour Party and George W. Bush of the Conservatives worked well together, the same cannot be said for Donald Trump and Theresa May, both of whom are leaders of right-wing parties in their respective countries.
How Starmer will fare against the two US presidential candidates remains to be seen. But after failing to hold a meeting with Biden during his tenure as leader of the British opposition, Starmer finally has a chance to test the waters with Biden at the NATO summit. Lamy, meanwhile, has been steadily cultivating ties with the Make America Great Again campaign in case Trump wins.
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