Failure of reason - US government shutdown

EUROPEAN and British political leaders need look no farther than the United States to see the devastating consequences on ordinary citizens of a failure to reach reasonable compromise in any protracted dispute or negotiation.

The sight of almost 1m federal workers going hungry, as a result of Donald Trump’s government shutdown, would be shocking anywhere. The fact that it is occurring in one of the wealthiest nations on Earth is almost beyond belief.

Senator Angus King, a rare independent in the US, discussed the government shutdown in an interview with CNN yesterday, saying he believed the president must “come to grips with the reality that he’s not the CEO of America”.

Wise words. The pity is that they were not made by somebody who can influence US government policy. Trump should pay heed to his legacy. In 19th-century Ireland, Queen Victoria became known as the “famine queen”, as a result of catastrophic failures by her government to address food shortages. By continuing to starve the Democrats into submission, Trump could become America’s “famine president”.