Unleashed Trump sowing doubts about the future

When Donald Trump spoke to the General Meeting of the United Nations in 2018, there was laughed at his silly. My government, Trump then said, performed more than all other American governments. The self -felicity was so unusual that even the disciplined company of diplomats and government leaders let the usual decorum sail.

This week it remained silent when Trump stimulated the United States in the same UN as “The Hottest Country on Earth ”. Everything gets used, also Trump.

The room also did not shrink when he then cracked the UN, the UN climate goals and the UN refugee law. And nobody walked away angry when Trump opened the attack on European leaders who are destroying their countries with migration and sustainable energy.

Casting, the allies now know, also belongs to the interaction with Trump. EU committee chairman Ursula von der Leyen later said that Europe will continue with sustainable energy, because it is cheap, good for climate and good for Europe’s independence.

And leaders have long learned that you should not correct the man unnecessarily. In his speech, Trump was advocated that he had ended seven wars in seven months, which is simply incorrect. UN chef António Guterres then praised him for his efforts for peace.

XI responds in video message

The Week of the UN was involuntarily also the Week of Trump – if only because Xi Jinping, leader of that other superpower, let go. XI did send a video message to a UN meeting the day after Trumps speech in which he explained the Chinese climate objective. He subtly underlined the difference with Trump, calling climate change “deception”, although climate activists were disappointed in the goals announced XI.

Trumps first UN performance After his re-election, it was tensioned with excitement because it is not clear what the US, most important lender, are planning with the UN. He did not offer much guidance yet.

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In his speech he was late about the UN, but a moment later he saw opportunities again. “The United States are 100 percent behind the UN,” he told Guternes. “I think the potential of the UN is incredible, unbelievable.” The frequently plagued UN boss received the words smiling, even though his organization is in financial need because Trump puts the knife in the contribution.

Nowadays, nobody also looks up from Trumps contradictions, although he made it very colorful with Brazil. In his speech, he lashed out hard to that country, but also said that he had just met Brazilian President Lula behind the scenes, that they had hugged each other and that they have an appointment next week. I liked him, Trump said and, he said: I only do business with people I like.

The formal part of the UN week is essentially one speech-marathon, from the morning to the evening, a week. One leader after the other underlined the importance of the organization. The Finnish President Alexander Stubb explained once again in a sober college that small countries cannot do well without the UN.

“Foreign policy is about three cases: values, interests and power. I come from a fairly small country and our toolbox consists mainly of values ​​and interests. Power […] is a luxury for larger players. Small countries only have power when they work together. Smart diplomacy at least gives small players a little influence. ”

It is disturbing that one after the other leads the importance of the UN. But everyone sees: the world is on the move and the question is whether the UN will move on time.

Five to ten years of uncertainty

The UN, turning eighty this year, are a reflection of the world order that the victors of the Second World War have put together. But that order has disappeared and it is not yet clear what will replace it. Stubb said to expect that that will certainly take another five to ten years.

The old world dominated by the US has given way to a world with several power centers. Small countries are now trying to tie very pragmatic contact with all power centers.

At the same time, power in the world of the west is shifting to the east and south. To do justice to that shift, the UN Security Council must be expanded-that is also a UN-Evergreen that was often heard again this week. Nigeria claimed a security council seat for itself. Sierra Leone broke a lance for an African seat.

Even though it is not clear how the UN should go further, it is still a stage where countries like to show themselves. Special was the debut of Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the first performance of a Syrian president in almost sixty years. Press agencies reported that hundreds of Syrians followed the speech on large screens in various large cities. “Syria takes his rightful place in the world community,” said Al-Sharaa, who knocked over the regime of Bashar al-Assad at the end of last year.

The dramatic highlight was undoubtedly the performance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who built up a reputation with pruning UN speeches and was not disappointed this year. On Friday, of course, he led to Hamas and he had had speakers set up in Gaza so that he could immediately address the twenty hostages from New York.

Netanyahu denied in all keys that Israel is guilty of genocide. He also settled with countries such as the United Kingdom and France that had ushered in the UN week with the recognition of Palestine as state. He called the two -state solution “complete madness, it’s insane, we’re not going to do it.” According to a count of the Washington Post More than a hundred diplomats from more than fifty countries left the room when Netanyahu took the floor.

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The hundreds of government leaders and ministers do not fly to New York every year to listen to each other’s speeches. They leave listening to the diplomats. They use their week to meet each other in corridors, hotels or embassies.

It was the US that this year in that part of the UN week caused some excitement by talking to many countries about a plan for the future of Gaza. Trump, who will visit Netanyahu on Monday, even claimed on Friday afternoon that an appointment about a cease-fire is almost round. Then he left for a golf tournament.

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