A preview of UNGA

If flattery of US President Donald Trump was the currency of the UN General Assembly gathering last week, India’s Narendra Modi came to the US with a bulging wallet. Starting the trip with a rally for overseas Indians in Houston,  Modi invited along  Trump. The president was at his most jubilant last week when retweeting footage of the packed arena. Populists, it turns out, like to appear popular. UNGA began as self-proclaimed patriots revelled in their true agendas. The week was shaped around what  Trump called “conflict between patriotism and globalism”.

A number of countries worked hard to bolster  Trump's popularity. At a press conference in Manhattan’s Intercontinental hotel, he claimed a record number of bilateral meetings.

Whether that was true or not, the US president certainly brought the court of King Donald to the city where he grew up. Trade deals were promised, and signed with British and Japanese leaders.

Yet the pictures from those meetings soon came to symbolise the president’s own political woes.

Alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the two men were pugilistic in the face of the blows landing on them.  Johnson had just suffered a Supreme Court judgment voiding his suspension of the UK parliament. Hours later,  Trump was to learn that a whistleblower complaint had triggered a House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into his conduct.

By the time that  Trump met the Ukrainian leader – the man on the other end of the contentious phone call that triggered the alarm – there was plenty of ill will in the air. “I don’t want to get involved,” pleaded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Speeches at the UN podium were overshadowed by the dramas on the sidelines. Speakers addressed divisions over the globalism of the UN system. A representative of Austria’s technocratic government attempted to caution the nationalists that their governments needed worldwide follow-through. Indeed,  Trump himself had displayed this by hosting a summit on religious freedom on Monday, an event addressed by Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general.

 Guterres' priority on Monday, however, was the Climate Action Summit. Here the limelight was stolen by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg.  Trump only put in an appearance to show support for  Modi.

The changing nature of politics around the world has forced  Guterres to abandon the idea of the secretary general as a broker of deals. Hours of shuttle diplomacy attempting to close the gap in times of crisis are not for him. Peacemaking in conflicts does not appear to take up much of his energy. Nor do set-piece interventions at the UN Security Council seeking to deliver the heft of the international community. Instead, he appears to have pared his work down to two approaches. The first is to latch onto global campaigns. This year, the climate crisis; last year, refugees and migration. The second tool is the deployment of international envoys to deliver breakthroughs. Geir Pedersen, the UN's Syria envoy, announced a long-touted constitutional committee.

The UN was silent on the escalating Iran crisis. That left French President Emmanuel Macron to wage an intense campaign to broker a meeting between  Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Despite the two men sitting just a few feet apart,  Macron was rebuffed by  Rouhani. It was the abysmal failure of the week.

Ghassan Salame, the UN's Libya envoy, was marginalised. Having talked about re-engaging in direct talks, Fayez Al Sarraj, the leader of the Government of National Accord, backed away. His podium speech rejected talks with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

The writer is a British journalist

 

A preview of UNGA

If flattery of US President Donald Trump was the currency of the UN General Assembly gathering last week, Indias Narendra Modi came to the US with a bulging wallet. Starting the trip with a rally for overseas Indians in Houston, Modi invited along Trump. The president was at his most jubilant last week when retweeting footage of the packed arena. Populists, it turns out, like to appear popular. UNGA began as self-proclaimed patriots revelled in their true agendas. The week was shaped around what Trump called conflict between patriotism and globalism. A number of countries worked hard to bolster Trumps popularity. At a press conference in Manhattans Intercontinental hotel, he claimed a record number of bilateral meetings. Whether that was true or not, the US president certainly brought the court of King Donald to the city where he grew up. Trade deals were promised, and signed with British and Japanese leaders. Yet the pictures from those meetings soon came to symbolise the presidents own political woes. Alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the two men were pugilistic in the face of the blows landing on them. Johnson had just suffered a Supreme Court judgment voiding his suspension of the UK parliament. Hours later, Trump was to learn that a whistleblower complaint had triggered a House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into his conduct. By the time that Trump met the Ukrainian leader the man on the other end of the contentious phone call that triggered the alarm there was plenty of ill will in the air. I dont want to get involved, pleaded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Speeches at the UN podium were overshadowed by the dramas on the sidelines. Speakers addressed divisions over the globalism of the UN system. A representative of Austrias technocratic government attempted to caution the nationalists that their governments needed worldwide follow-through. Indeed, Trump himself had displayed this by hosting a summit on religious freedom on Monday, an event addressed by Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general. Guterres priority on Monday, however, was the Climate Action Summit. Here the limelight was stolen by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg. Trump only put in an appearance to show support for Modi. The changing nature of politics around the world has forced Guterres to abandon the idea of the secretary general as a broker of deals. Hours of shuttle diplomacy attempting to close the gap in times of crisis are not for him. Peacemaking in conflicts does not appear to take up much of his energy. Nor do set-piece interventions at the UN Security Council seeking to deliver the heft of the international community. Instead, he appears to have pared his work down to two approaches. The first is to latch onto global campaigns. This year, the climate crisis; last year, refugees and migration. The second tool is the deployment of international envoys to deliver breakthroughs. Geir Pedersen, the UNs Syria envoy, announced a long-touted constitutional committee. The UN was silent on the escalating Iran crisis. That left French President Emmanuel Macron to wage an intense campaign to broker a meeting between Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Despite the two men sitting just a few feet apart, Macron was rebuffed by Rouhani. It was the abysmal failure of the week. Ghassan Salame, the UNs Libya envoy, was marginalised. Having talked about re-engaging in direct talks, Fayez Al Sarraj, the leader of the Government of National Accord, backed away. His podium speech rejected talks with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The writer is a British journalist