Neil
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An innocent abroad? Plain-talking Cameron alarms FCO veterans
As waiters in livery dispensed chicken curry canapes and a selection of colourful Indian summer fruit juices from silver trays, a tinkle on a glass indicated the guest of honour had something important to say. David Cameron stepped up in front of the guests gathered in the drawing room of the British high commissioner's palatial residence in New Delhi to say he had made a mistake.
With due apologies to Humphrey Bogart, the prime minister told scores of business leaders and diplomats he had quoted one of the great lines from Casablanca incorrectly when he concluded a speech to Indian business leaders with the words: "Let's build a beautiful relationship." Looking mildly sheepish, Cameron joked: "I should have said: 'This could be the start of a beautiful friendship'."
The audience laughed before filing out in the humid monsoon heat to the splendid gardens of the residence, in the heart of the Lutyens-designed New Delhi, the main feature of which is a croquet lawn. The guests were too polite to ask publicly whether the prime minister had made a rather graver mistake at the end of his speech to the Indian business leaders earlier in India's hi-tech centre of Bengalooru (formerly Bangalore).
In remarks which reverberated across the subcontinent within minutes, the prime minister blamed elements of the Pakistani state for promoting the export of terror. Islamabad was quick to criticise Cameron, saying the prime minister should not believe leaked US military documents. A central finding of the Wikileaks documents is that Britain and the US believe the Pakistani intelligence service, ISI, is still encouraging the Taliban.
The prime minister's remarks raised eyebrows in the Foreign Office which believes that, given that most terror plots in Britain originate at some point from the Pakistan/Afghanistan border, Britain has a vital interest in maintaining warm relations with Islamabad. A message was quickly despatched to Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president who will be visiting Cameron at Chequers next week, that Britain believed his government is fighting hard against the terror threat. Cameron echoed this , though he insisted he would continue to talk frankly about Pakistan.
While experienced diplomats were alarmed, Cameron's colleagues saw nothing wrong with his remarks which demonstrated a refreshing approach in their eyes.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, said: "The prime minister is a great diplomat. He is a natural at it." A senior aide said: "What you see with David is what you get. He has always spoken his mind and told it exactly as it is. David does that back in Britain. After the Cumbria shootings he expressed his horror but said there was no need for fresh legislation. Imagine how many new criminal justice bills Gordon Brown would have introduced.
"David is also adopting this straightforward, open and frank approach abroad. It is so refreshing. With Labour you could never quite understand what they thought because they would always have convoluted ways of looking at issues abroad."
A series of interventions by the prime minister, during a frantic two weeks on both sides of the Atlantic, are held up by Downing Street as signs of this open and honest diplomacy. On the eve of his speech in Bengalooru, Cameron delighted Turkey with two pronouncements: accusing Israel of turning the Gaza Strip into a "prison camp" and indicating that Britain was prepared to battle France and Germany over Ankara's bid to join the EU.
The Cameron bluntness was given a high-profile outing the week before in the US, though the victims that time were patriotic readers of the Daily Mail. In an attempt to recalibrate Anglo-American relations to a more realistic level, the prime minister said Britain should accept it is the "junior partner".
To illustrate his point, Cameron said that this was even the case at the height of the "special relationship" in 1940 when Britain and the US stood shoulder to shoulder to meet the Nazi threat. He later admitted his remarks showed a shaky grasp of history because in 1940 Winston Churchill was embarking on his year-long campaign to persuade Washington to join the allied war effort.
Cameron had warmed up for his US trip by speaking his mind on a sensitive matter closer to home. The release, last year on compassionate grounds, of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing by the Scottish authorities had been a mistake, he said. During his visit to Washington the prime minister also raised the case of Gary McKinnon, the computer hacker facing extradition to the US, asking whether McKinnon can serve his sentence, if convicted, in Britain.
Downing Street's firm defence of the prime minister's performance over the last two weeks shows that, as Cameron flew back to Britain at the end of the largest official visit to India since independence in 1947, he is convinced he is fashioning a new form of open and honest diplomacy. Where Labour wound itself up in intricate and complex explanations, Cameron will just speak his mind.
But old lags at the Foreign Office argue that the delicate art of communications overseas is a well-established practice known as diplomacy. In India's case it dates back centuries to the era when emissaries from the English crown came bearing gifts to princely rulers as they sought to trade. Diplomacy was quickly replaced with the sword in India, but an art form had made an early mark.
The need for a delicate approach to diplomacy today was highlighted, according to the traditionalists, when Cameron blundered into the tinder box of Indo-Pakistan relations this week.
Cameron believes the two countries can be broadly dealt with in two categories: trade with India and security co-operation with Pakistan. Diplomats say Cameron is overlooking lesson number one of the subcontinent: the nuclear neighbours, who formed one country under the British crown until 1947, can never be treated separately. Opening up Britain's civil nuclear technology to India in the hope of boosting trade, as Cameron did, will be hailed in Delhi. But Pakistan will be alarmed.
Cameron had an early taste of the perils of plain speaking the day before his India trip when he likened Gaza to a prison camp and warned of a battle with France and Germany over Turkey's EU membership bid. No 10 said his Gaza remarks were no different to his description of the Palestinian territory in June as a "giant open prison". The reaction from Israel may give the prime minister pause to reflect on whether it was wise to accuse the state created by Holocaust survivors of creating a prison camp.
Government sources said that his second message in Ankara – his warning to France and Germany – fits into an approach of delivering uncomfortable home truths to close allies. "It is really noticeable that the prime minister has been pretty outspoken to the US on BP, saying it is a multinational company," one senior figure said. "He has also not shied away from speaking his mind in the EU on financial services and the importance of not harming the City of London with undue new regulations. This approach is paying dividends."
Cameron will be on his diplomatic best when he hosts Zardari at Chequers next week. Perhaps this will serve as a reminder that life as the leader of a permanent member of the UN security council means every word has to be measured with care.
The prime minister believes his trip has been a resounding success in boosting trade. So pleased is he with his debut that he was even heard saying it might be time to move on. "That's it, I retire," he said after realizing a childhood dream by hitting the Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev for six. Unlike his trip that was easy. Dev had bowled him a tennis ball.
Trips and slips
David Cameron has courted controversy for a series of outspoken remarks during his overseas tours:
"¢ On his first official visit to the US, he said Britain should accept it is the "junior partner" in the special relationship, adding Britain had even had this junior role in 1940. He later admitted he had shown a shaky grasp of history, because in 1940 Winston Churchill was embarking on his year-long campaign to persuade Washington to join the allied war effort against the Nazis.
"¢ During a state visit to Turkey, Cameron described Gaza as a "prison camp," infuriating some Conservative supporters of Israel. They were angry that he failed to apportion any blame for the siege of Gaza to Hamas, which controls the territory.
"¢ Cameron risked aggravating Britain's European partners over his pledge to battle those EU states resistant to Turkey's attempts to join the union. Some commentators observed that he had effectively accused France and Germany of protectionism and prejudice.
"¢ While visiting India, Cameron blamed elements of the Pakistani state for promoting the export of terrorism. Pakistan's high commissioner to Britain accused him of damaging the prospects for regional peace and the prime minister was forced to defend his comments ahead of a visit to Chequers next week by the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/29/david-cameron-foreign-office-india
As waiters in livery dispensed chicken curry canapes and a selection of colourful Indian summer fruit juices from silver trays, a tinkle on a glass indicated the guest of honour had something important to say. David Cameron stepped up in front of the guests gathered in the drawing room of the British high commissioner's palatial residence in New Delhi to say he had made a mistake.
With due apologies to Humphrey Bogart, the prime minister told scores of business leaders and diplomats he had quoted one of the great lines from Casablanca incorrectly when he concluded a speech to Indian business leaders with the words: "Let's build a beautiful relationship." Looking mildly sheepish, Cameron joked: "I should have said: 'This could be the start of a beautiful friendship'."
The audience laughed before filing out in the humid monsoon heat to the splendid gardens of the residence, in the heart of the Lutyens-designed New Delhi, the main feature of which is a croquet lawn. The guests were too polite to ask publicly whether the prime minister had made a rather graver mistake at the end of his speech to the Indian business leaders earlier in India's hi-tech centre of Bengalooru (formerly Bangalore).
In remarks which reverberated across the subcontinent within minutes, the prime minister blamed elements of the Pakistani state for promoting the export of terror. Islamabad was quick to criticise Cameron, saying the prime minister should not believe leaked US military documents. A central finding of the Wikileaks documents is that Britain and the US believe the Pakistani intelligence service, ISI, is still encouraging the Taliban.
The prime minister's remarks raised eyebrows in the Foreign Office which believes that, given that most terror plots in Britain originate at some point from the Pakistan/Afghanistan border, Britain has a vital interest in maintaining warm relations with Islamabad. A message was quickly despatched to Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president who will be visiting Cameron at Chequers next week, that Britain believed his government is fighting hard against the terror threat. Cameron echoed this , though he insisted he would continue to talk frankly about Pakistan.
While experienced diplomats were alarmed, Cameron's colleagues saw nothing wrong with his remarks which demonstrated a refreshing approach in their eyes.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, said: "The prime minister is a great diplomat. He is a natural at it." A senior aide said: "What you see with David is what you get. He has always spoken his mind and told it exactly as it is. David does that back in Britain. After the Cumbria shootings he expressed his horror but said there was no need for fresh legislation. Imagine how many new criminal justice bills Gordon Brown would have introduced.
"David is also adopting this straightforward, open and frank approach abroad. It is so refreshing. With Labour you could never quite understand what they thought because they would always have convoluted ways of looking at issues abroad."
A series of interventions by the prime minister, during a frantic two weeks on both sides of the Atlantic, are held up by Downing Street as signs of this open and honest diplomacy. On the eve of his speech in Bengalooru, Cameron delighted Turkey with two pronouncements: accusing Israel of turning the Gaza Strip into a "prison camp" and indicating that Britain was prepared to battle France and Germany over Ankara's bid to join the EU.
The Cameron bluntness was given a high-profile outing the week before in the US, though the victims that time were patriotic readers of the Daily Mail. In an attempt to recalibrate Anglo-American relations to a more realistic level, the prime minister said Britain should accept it is the "junior partner".
To illustrate his point, Cameron said that this was even the case at the height of the "special relationship" in 1940 when Britain and the US stood shoulder to shoulder to meet the Nazi threat. He later admitted his remarks showed a shaky grasp of history because in 1940 Winston Churchill was embarking on his year-long campaign to persuade Washington to join the allied war effort.
Cameron had warmed up for his US trip by speaking his mind on a sensitive matter closer to home. The release, last year on compassionate grounds, of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing by the Scottish authorities had been a mistake, he said. During his visit to Washington the prime minister also raised the case of Gary McKinnon, the computer hacker facing extradition to the US, asking whether McKinnon can serve his sentence, if convicted, in Britain.
Downing Street's firm defence of the prime minister's performance over the last two weeks shows that, as Cameron flew back to Britain at the end of the largest official visit to India since independence in 1947, he is convinced he is fashioning a new form of open and honest diplomacy. Where Labour wound itself up in intricate and complex explanations, Cameron will just speak his mind.
But old lags at the Foreign Office argue that the delicate art of communications overseas is a well-established practice known as diplomacy. In India's case it dates back centuries to the era when emissaries from the English crown came bearing gifts to princely rulers as they sought to trade. Diplomacy was quickly replaced with the sword in India, but an art form had made an early mark.
The need for a delicate approach to diplomacy today was highlighted, according to the traditionalists, when Cameron blundered into the tinder box of Indo-Pakistan relations this week.
Cameron believes the two countries can be broadly dealt with in two categories: trade with India and security co-operation with Pakistan. Diplomats say Cameron is overlooking lesson number one of the subcontinent: the nuclear neighbours, who formed one country under the British crown until 1947, can never be treated separately. Opening up Britain's civil nuclear technology to India in the hope of boosting trade, as Cameron did, will be hailed in Delhi. But Pakistan will be alarmed.
Cameron had an early taste of the perils of plain speaking the day before his India trip when he likened Gaza to a prison camp and warned of a battle with France and Germany over Turkey's EU membership bid. No 10 said his Gaza remarks were no different to his description of the Palestinian territory in June as a "giant open prison". The reaction from Israel may give the prime minister pause to reflect on whether it was wise to accuse the state created by Holocaust survivors of creating a prison camp.
Government sources said that his second message in Ankara – his warning to France and Germany – fits into an approach of delivering uncomfortable home truths to close allies. "It is really noticeable that the prime minister has been pretty outspoken to the US on BP, saying it is a multinational company," one senior figure said. "He has also not shied away from speaking his mind in the EU on financial services and the importance of not harming the City of London with undue new regulations. This approach is paying dividends."
Cameron will be on his diplomatic best when he hosts Zardari at Chequers next week. Perhaps this will serve as a reminder that life as the leader of a permanent member of the UN security council means every word has to be measured with care.
The prime minister believes his trip has been a resounding success in boosting trade. So pleased is he with his debut that he was even heard saying it might be time to move on. "That's it, I retire," he said after realizing a childhood dream by hitting the Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev for six. Unlike his trip that was easy. Dev had bowled him a tennis ball.
Trips and slips
David Cameron has courted controversy for a series of outspoken remarks during his overseas tours:
"¢ On his first official visit to the US, he said Britain should accept it is the "junior partner" in the special relationship, adding Britain had even had this junior role in 1940. He later admitted he had shown a shaky grasp of history, because in 1940 Winston Churchill was embarking on his year-long campaign to persuade Washington to join the allied war effort against the Nazis.
"¢ During a state visit to Turkey, Cameron described Gaza as a "prison camp," infuriating some Conservative supporters of Israel. They were angry that he failed to apportion any blame for the siege of Gaza to Hamas, which controls the territory.
"¢ Cameron risked aggravating Britain's European partners over his pledge to battle those EU states resistant to Turkey's attempts to join the union. Some commentators observed that he had effectively accused France and Germany of protectionism and prejudice.
"¢ While visiting India, Cameron blamed elements of the Pakistani state for promoting the export of terrorism. Pakistan's high commissioner to Britain accused him of damaging the prospects for regional peace and the prime minister was forced to defend his comments ahead of a visit to Chequers next week by the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/29/david-cameron-foreign-office-india