Why the earthquake could help hasten the fall of Myanmar’s dictator
A group of Buddhist monks in saffron robes are gathered beside a shrine lying collapsed on the ground but seemingly intact, as if someone has pushed it over. They are not looking at this but at a mid-rise, primrose-yellow building a few hundred yards away.
As the monks film on their phones – the building, seemingly solid one moment, suddenly collapses into itself, the upper storeys disappearing in a cloud of dust as the monks flinch, crouch and then quickly resume filming again. One can only hope that everyone inside had already got out.
Meanwhile, the top of the spire of Shwe Sar Yan pagoda near Mandalay, near the epicentre of the earthquake, snaps off as onlookers scream and weep at the demise of this thousand-year-old pagoda. In Mandalay, the exquisite royal palace, built in the 1850s, has suffered damage too.
Buildings across the country, from apartment blocks in cities to bamboo homes in refugee camps, have collapsed, with thousands of casualties likely trapped inside. It could not come at a worse time for Myanmar with the repressive military regime engaged in a brutal war against the population. Since the coup in 2021, five million people have been forced to flee their homes, and at least 6,000 have been killed by the country’s military, who have carried out bombing campaigns on villages, schools and hospitals, executed prisoners, and carried out massacres.
Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK, says: “There’s a feeling in Myanmar of: ‘Not this, after everything else that we have suffered.’”
Myanmar has indeed faced tragedy after tragedy in the last 80 years. The leader of its independence movement, Aung San, was assassinated in 1947, just as he was poised to become Burma’s first post-independence prime minister.
Then in 1962, just as Burma’s ethnic minority groups were about to get greater autonomy, the military staged a coup, renamed the country Myanmar, and so began decades of repressive military rule that continues today.
Aung San’s daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been imprisoned by the military on and off since 1989. In 2020, she led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to election victory, but the military prevented the NLD from taking power. In December 2022, they sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to 30 years in prison, later reduced to 27, under trumped-up charges of corruption and treason, meaning that she will not be released until she is over 100.
Myanmar is also one of the countries most severely affected by the climate crisis. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused devastating floods, as inland tsunamis ripped children from their parents’ arms, and destroyed villages, towns and crops. With 2.4 million in desperate need of aid, the military regime preferred to let the survivors die from disease and starvation rather than allow aid agencies in.
Convoys were turned back, and much aid was confiscated. We will never know the death toll, but it was estimated at 200,000, many preventable.
Will things be different this time? The regime has – unusually – requested international aid. However, simultaneously, there are reports that they are taking advantage of the tragedy to bomb Shan State, one of the regions liberated from the regime.
In the past, international aid agencies have routed their aid through Yangon. “The danger is that if they do this, it won’t get to where it’s needed as the government will prevent it from reaching areas it doesn’t control,” warns Farmaner.
With the military government only in full control of around 20 per cent of the country, even if they are willing to allow international aid in, they will likely be unable to get the aid to the remote regions where it is needed.
The charity Advance Myanmar has been providing emergency aid to tens of thousands of people in remote areas who have fled attacks by the military and where local administrations are working heroically to rescue people from collapsed buildings and treat the injured. They warn: “The Myanmar military impose some of the most severe restrictions on humanitarian aid anywhere in the world … We can’t have another situation where international aid for a crisis in Myanmar is blocked or delayed by the Myanmar military.”
Both the UK and US governments have recently announced savage cuts to international aid, which are already badly affecting the people of Myanmar, making their plight even worse.
Because the earthquake struck during prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan, many of Myanmar’s Muslim minority were trapped inside mosques that collapsed: the repair or building of mosques has been largely banned by the anti-Muslim military government since 1962.
There is one glimmer of hope amid tragedy: the military regime is deeply superstitious. The fact that the earthquake happened hours after Armed Forces Day was celebrated may be another blow to the dictator, General Min Aung Hlaing, whose support among even the military is crumbling. Could the earthquake help hasten his fall?
Burma is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. But it is also one of the most benighted. Denied democracy, devastated by natural disaster, its suffering but stoic people surely deserve our support in what may yet be their greatest hour of need.
You can donate here
Woman who dismissed ‘stress’ from divorce told she has years left
A grandmother has been told she has just years left to live after her first symptoms of motor neurone disease (MND) were mistaken for stress from her divorce.
Diana Keys, 65, started “falling over for no reason” and her speech began to deteriorate about a year after her 35-year marriage ended in 2019.
The now-retired mother, from Clevedon, north Somerset, sought medical advice and testing but was told by a consultant that her symptoms were “functional due to stress from (her) divorce”.
Diana was “adamant” this was not the case and in May 2023, three years after her symptoms started, she was diagnosed with MND.
MND is incurable and causes progressive muscle weakness, and was told her prognosis was between two and five years.
For Diana, the condition affects her mobility and speech and leaves her “struggling” to complete simple tasks such as cooking, carrying a cup of tea and taking her credit card out of her purse.
Diana is “passionate” about raising awareness of the disease, particularly among women, and hopes her story will encourage others to advocate for their health.
“I keep looking for a sell-by date code on me, but there isn’t one, so I just keep going,” Diana said.
“I can be a glass half empty person sometimes but, since my diagnosis, I’ve tried not to bring other people down – I try to be stoic.
“I try to keep a sense of humour and count my blessings, so I’ve got a lot to live for.”
MND is a rare condition which progressively damages parts of the nervous system and leads to muscle weakness.
There is no cure, but treatment can manage the symptoms, which can include stiff or weak hands, weak legs and feet, and twitches, spasms or muscle cramps.
After Diana and her husband “drifted apart” and divorced in 2019, she started falling over, which was “confusing and frightening”.
“I fell over in the bathroom and hit my head in the shower and, after that happened two or three times, I contacted the GP,” she said.
Diana’s GP referred her to a consultant neurologist at the local hospital, where she underwent electromyography (EMG), which measures the electrical activity in the muscles.
She said the consultant thought her symptoms were just stress after her divorce, but she “knew that wasn’t the case”.
After then experiencing fasciculation (muscle twitching) and noticing her voice was deteriorating, she pushed for further testing.
“I’ve always been a very positive person. I’ve suffered from depression, so I know how that feels, and the issues I was having were physical,” she said.
In May 2023, three years after her symptoms started, Diana was told she had MND, which was a “huge shock”.
She said she was “hysterical” and found her diagnosis difficult to accept, particularly as the condition is incurable and invariably fatal.
“I remember the consultant just saying, ‘There is no cure, and the prognosis is between two and five years’.
“I just thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s awful’.”
Reflecting on her divorce, she added: “To be honest, I’m glad that he hasn’t got to deal with me, with this awful disease, so I’m relieved that he can find happiness somewhere else.”
Diana said she was given information pointing to the “amazing” MND Association (MNDA) charity and, as she drove home, she questioned how she would tell her family and friends “without frightening everybody”.
She said she went into “admin mode” and carried on working as a primary school administrator until November 2024, as she “needed to feel in control of something”.
“Becoming the cared-for as opposed to the carer is incredibly hard… and I still wake up every day and think, ‘Come on Di, you can walk properly today’, and then I can’t,” she said.
“I know that I will have to accept this at some point.”
Fortunately, having moved into a bungalow soon after the divorce, Diana has not had to make too many alterations to her home.
Her garden has been landscaped for accessibility and safety, with help from the MNDA, and she is looking to widen her door frames to accommodate a wheelchair in future.
She said the “fatigue is huge”, her voice is slurred and her mobility is “wobbly”, and a simple task such as “carrying a cup of tea into the lounge from the kitchen is hard”.
She said: “I love cooking for family and having friends around for meals – I can’t do that now.
“I can’t cut food properly and, when I eat socially, I tend to get things stuck in my throat, which is embarrassing, so I have to eat alone now.
“Socially, it’s been hard because it takes a lot of effort to speak and walk – all the normal things – and I had to have my hair cut because I couldn’t manage to style it properly.”
To help cope with her diagnosis, Diana said she went “on a mission with raising awareness” and joined several support groups.
She said she had “everything to look forward to” before her diagnosis, including “adventures” in her caravan, but now she is adjusting to a new way of life and wants to help others with MND feel less alone.
“My progression is relatively slow, so I’m hoping that I’ll get as long as I can,” she said.
“Once you’ve got a diagnosis, something as traumatic as motor neurone disease, it’s not the end, it’s the beginning of a new journey.”
For more information and support, visit MND Association’s website.
Man, 84, dies after XL Bully attack while walking home
An 84-year-old man who was viciously attacked by two XL bully dogs has died over a month after he was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
Police were forced to shoot the dogs 19 times in Warrington, Cheshire, after they escaped an owner’s house and attacked the pensioner while he was walking home.
A 30-year-old man has been charged for owning a dangerously out of control animal that caused seriously injury, and possession of an illegal dog.
Since February last year, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in England and Wales without an exemption certificate.
It was introduced under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 after 16 deaths by dog bites in 2023 – more than double the six fatalities in 2022.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak declared the XL Bully dog a danger to communities, placing it on the list of prohibited breeds that include the Pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa Dogo Argentino and Fila Braziliero.
Accorded to Defra, around 60,000 certificates were issued before 1 February, while compensation was paid out to owners for euthanasia in 326 cases.
More than 800 XL bully dogs were also put down by police forces, according to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC).
Detective Inspector Simon Mills, of Cheshire Police, said: “This was a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the family of the victim at this difficult time.
“The victim has fought so hard since the attack but sadly his injuries were too much, and despite the best efforts of the specialist medical teams who have supported him since the attack, he has now passed away.
“To endure such pain and anguish at the hands of an animal is unimaginable, and I cannot begin to comprehend the distress that his family are currently suffering following such an horrific incident.
“Nobody should have to go through what they have experienced, and our specialist officers are providing them with the support they need at this truly awful time.”
Virgin poised to announce challenger to Eurostar
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has declared its readiness to launch passenger train services through the Channel Tunnel, following a key regulatory decision.
The company said “no more major hurdles” remain after the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) announced the potential availability of capacity at Eurostar‘s Temple Mills maintenance depot in north-east London.
Access to a suitable depot for train maintenance and storage has been a significant obstacle for potential competitors to Eurostar.
The ORR’s announcement follows an independent report commissioned to investigate this very issue, bringing Virgin’s cross-Channel ambitions significantly closer to reality.
The regulator said: “Eurostar’s London depot would be able, if required, to accommodate additional trains.”
It added: “Changes to operational and maintenance arrangements at the depot, as well as possible alterations to infrastructure, would be required to access extra capacity and allow more trains to be stabled/maintained there.”
Eurostar holds a monopoly in running passenger services through the Channel Tunnel, which opened in 1994.
A Virgin Group spokesperson said: “Finally a green signal for competition. The Temple Mills depot is the only facility in the UK which can accommodate European-style trains and claims suggesting it was at capacity have been blocking Virgin from coming to the line.
“Virgin is therefore very pleased with the outcome and we thank the ORR for commissioning this report, which will now unlock competition on the cross-Channel route for the benefit of all passengers.
“There are no more major hurdles to overcome, and Virgin is ready to take up the challenge, given its award-winning experience in the train industry and track record for building globally successful travel brands.
“We expect to be able to make an announcement very soon. Watch this space.”
Virgin Group said earlier in March it was aiming to challenge Eurostar’s dominance with a £700 million fundraising effort to launch its own cross-channel rail service.
Spanish start-up company Evolyn, and Gemini Trains – chaired by Labour peer Lord Berkeley – are also hoping to run trains through the tunnel.
Virgin Group was the majority owner of Virgin Trains when it ran domestic services on the West Coast Main Line from 1997 to 2019.
Last goats living on UK coastal site culled by National Trust
The last four goats living on an English beauty spot have reportedly been culled by the National Trust.
The goats, regularly seen scaling the dramatic cliffs in Brean Down in Somerset, were put down due to poor health including tuberculosis (TB), the charity told the BBC.
The coastal area features an abandoned Napoleonic fort and is popular with walkers for spectacular sunsets overlooking Weston-super-Mare.
National Trust South West said health concerns had been raised due to the goats’ “restricted gene pool”, before tests showed they had TB.
A spokesperson told the BBC the charity only undertook wildlife management “when absolutely essential”. The Independent has also approached National Trust.
The spokesperson said: “The number of goats on Brean Down has dwindled in recent years to only four goats.
“This raised significant welfare issues including poor health as a result of the restricted gene pool. Tests confirmed they were also carrying TB. Unfortunately, the goats have had to be culled.
“We are passionate about caring for special places and the wildlife that lives there, but occasionally have to make difficult decisions.
“Our approach is guided by the requirement for control interventions to be humane and informed by evidence.”
Locals had become increasingly concerned about the welfare of the goats in recent years after some had fallen to their deaths from the cliffside.
Some had demanded the animal charity RSPCA take action to rehome them after reports they were unwell.
The Barbados edit: Best experiences, from festivals to foodie feasts
There’s always something happening in beautiful, beachy Barbados, so whether you’re a carnival fan, firm foodie, or love live music, you’ll find incredible experiences to suit every passion. What’s more, travellers heading to Barbados this year can enjoy incredible discounts of up to 65 per cent on select hotels and an array of attractions and activities across the island, while indulging in the island’s vibrant culinary scene through exclusive menu offers from participating restaurants.
Here we delve into just some of the best activities, events and unmissable adventures you can enjoy on this wonderful, welcoming island.
The Crop Over festival transforms Barbados into an island-wide party with music, parades and dancing everywhere you look. More than 100,000 people take part in this annual gathering, which traditionally marks the end of the island’s sugar cane season. This year, the fun kicks off in July and the excitement peaks on the Grand Kadooment Day, featuring costumed revellers in bands, parading and dancing to great calypso songs blasting from the music trucks driving along the sizzling streets. The Crop Over festival is where Rihanna “got her style groove” according to fashion writers. You may just find yours there, too.
Read more: Best adults-only hotels in Barbados
If you’d prefer a smaller but equally fun celebration then Holetown Festival on the West Coast of Barbados is your friend. It’s a bouncy, colourful and family-friendly jamboree that celebrates the arrival of the first settlers to the island back in 1627. With a steel band concert, nightly shows, and a floodlit tattoo and night parade, the week-long event showcases the rich cultural heritage and traditions of Barbados.
Read more: Best family hotels in Barbados
The Barbados Reggae Festival is your chance to plunge yourself into the beating heart of reggae music. Renowned local and international reggae artists gather on the island in April to conjure up a rhythmic menu of reggae and dancehall. The music is only part of the fun: there are several beach parties and themed get-togethers across multiple events, including Reggae On The Hill. This year is the 20th anniversary of this festival, so the vibe is set to be better than ever.
Read more: Best beach hotels in Barbados
Culinary fans should book their trip to coincide with the vibrant Barbados Food and Rum Festival. This event has been named the Caribbean’s Best Culinary Festival at the World Culinary Awards two years running. Held annually in October, food lovers from around the globe descend to enjoy the island’s famed culinary experiences, with local and international chefs joining the eminent local mixologists to serve up fine food, drink and Bajan hospitality.
Another foodie must-experience is the Oistins Fish Festival, held annually over the Easter weekend in the pretty fishing village of Oistins, on the south coast. It celebrates the local fishing industry, with music, crafts and delicious local food. Dubbed one for the whole family, it includes an Easter bonnet competition, egg and spoon races, a fish boning competition and a hilarious contest where youngsters compete to reach the top of a greased pole.
By day, Harbour Lights on the stunning Carlisle Bay is a popular beach club, with loungers, umbrellas, and turtle and shipwreck snorkel tours, but at night, it transforms into a thrilling venue offering pulsating steel pan rhythms, stilt walkers, costumed dancers, and a live band. On Friday evenings you can party under the stars as the venue turns into an open-air nightclub.
For bar-hopping, head to St Lawrence Gap, known as ‘The Gap’ by locals. Here you can watch the sunset with a cocktail at On The Bay or Mimosas Trattoria and Bar, or head indoors for a great dining experience at Cocktail Kitchen, and finally take your pick from the late-night bars where you can party into the small hours of the morning.
Barbados lives and breathes cricket, and you can hear the sweet sound of leather on willow in villages across the island. The cream of the action is at the celebrated Kensington Oval, where you can take in an international Test Match or a One-Day match, soaking up the incredible atmosphere with music, dancing, drinking and delicious food. No one does cricket quite like the Barbadians.
For more adventurous sports fans there’s the Barbados Open Water Festival, with a variety of open water swim races that are open for all ages and abilities, as well as fun social events where the athletes and spectators can rub shoulders. It’s held in November at the Barbados Yacht Club in the tranquil, crescent-shaped Carlisle Bay. If boating is more your drift, Barbados Sailing Week in January promises incredible sailing experiences, races, beach parties and delicious Bajan food and drink. The perfect way to explore the island, cuisine and culture.
For travel information and inspiration and to discover hotel, experience and culinary offers, head to Visit Barbados
Is Labour turning to the right in its approach to immigration?
The prime minister has taken the opportunity of another international summit on migration to try to build international cooperation on the issue, talk tough on “illegal” (ie irregular) migration, and announce a new law that penalises companies for evading legal checks on people’s right to work in the UK (which asylum seekers are not permitted to do).
Some 40 countries, along with tech giants such as Meta, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, are represented at the meeting. Also notable by their presence were representatives from Vietnam, Albania and Iraq – prime sources of migration. It signals a continuing emphasis on meeting the public’s concerns, and a shift to the right in rhetoric and policy…
Keir Starmer’s more aggressive rhetoric – and, more specifically, a new law that promises penalties for outfits that don’t check on the right to work of their often casual employees, particularly in construction. In Starmer’s words: “We have to be honest here. For too long, the UK has been a soft touch on this … Too many dodgy firms have been exploiting a loophole to skip this process: hiring illegal workers, undercutting honest businesses, driving down the wages of ordinary working people.”
For those found guilty, there’s a fine of up to £60,000, a maximum prison term of five years, and the closure of their business.
Unmistakeably. It’s more carefully done, so that, for example, it’s unscrupulous British bosses rather than the immigrants themselves who are blamed for driving down wages, and targeted by the harshest words – but there’s no mistaking the shift. Starmer’s latest activity on X is another example of the blunter language: “If you don’t have the right to be in this country, then you shouldn’t be here. It’s that simple.”
There’s also a slightly unnerving official pride in the numbers being deported, sometimes accompanied by grim videos on social media. By contrast, you now never hear Labour politicians talk about “safe and secure routes” for refugees, as they did so much in opposition.
It’s changing. At the weekend, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “We’ve had a 40 per cent increase in illegal working raids since the elections. So some of the changes that we have made, that are having an impact already, are a 20 per cent increase in returns – over 19,000 people returned who have no right to be in the UK.” She added that there would be many more police and Border Force raids on places of work where “illegal” migrants are thought to be employed – a strongly Trumpian move.
Almost incredibly, given Starmer’s background as a progressive lawyer, it’s virtually an open secret that he is thinking about ways to avoid the use of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in criminal deportations. This has been the subject of some lurid reportage, and as a result, the public has gained the impression that the courts block deportation of sometimes serious criminals because of trivial “family rights” complications.
Beyond that, there are also well-supported rumours that the government wants to send irregular or economic migrants to the western Balkans, where “overseas hubs” would be established. The idea is to house failed asylum seekers from countries that are clearly unsafe for them to be returned to, such as Iran and Somalia. Other rejected claimants would also be lodged there before being returned to their safer home countries.
Under similar populist political pressure in Europe, the EU Commission wants to endorse the use of “return hubs” by member states as an “innovative” solution for “migration management”. The main benefit to the UK would be faster and cheaper processing. It’s not clear whether refugees with a valid claim would still be able to settle in the UK or, if not, where they would go instead.
The Conservatives argue that the government lacks a “deterrent” to migration, and that “smashing the gangs” isn’t working. They defend their Rwanda plan, saying it was just about to yield its benefits when Labour abolished it. Even so, they are not committed to bringing the Rwanda plan back.
Kemi Badenoch is open to leaving the Convention in certain circumstances: “When it comes to the ECHR [European Court of Human Rights], I have always been very clear that the ECHR should not stop us from doing what is right for the people of this country and what is right in our national interest. And if it continues to do so, at some point we will probably have to leave. What I have not agreed with is deciding that we should leave without having a plan for what that looks like, and how to do so in a way that makes sense.”
Reform UK is committed to leaving the Convention and removing all “illegal migrants”. The Liberal Democrats say immigration is “too high”, but want the UK to take its “fair share” of refugees.
Reform UK, who have managed to move up in the polls to first or second place. The problem for Starmer and Badenoch is that they can never outflank Nigel Farage on migration. The good news for them is that the now former Reform MP Rupert Lowe has found a way to outdo his former leader with his simple slogan of “Detain. Deport” – and with his enthusiasm for the deportation of migrants who have settled in the UK, and of some from a recent migrant background who were born in the UK and hold British citizenship.
If Lowe divides the extreme right and picks up momentum, he could inflict damage on Farage.
Meanwhile, without enough migrants, the UK economy continues to struggle, and public services don’t improve – while the migrants, who could build houses and staff care homes, are victimised. Starmer may be trying to neutralise the populist challenge, but this is becoming an increasingly toxic, and viciously Islamophobic, debate.
The financial markets no longer believe in Trump’s ‘stable genius’
For all their tendency to boom and bust, financial markets are usually adept at second-guessing governments and “pricing in” a range of plausible future scenarios.
Only when such loose assumptions are badly violated do they react violently. Such is the capricious nature of Donald Trump that this is now an occupational hazard.
Not even the most imaginative of market analysts could have foreseen the extraordinary twists and turns in the president’s tariff policies – plural, that is, because they hardly stay still long enough for the world’s customs officials to draw up the new schedules.
Not only are the proposed changes extreme – the highest tariffs since the historically disastrous Smoot-Hawley act of 1930, which was introduced to support America’s agricultural sector after the stock market crash, and inadvertently exacerbated the Great Depression – but, as the experiences of Mexico and Canada graphically demonstrate, they can be imposed, cancelled, delayed or ramped up again on the whim of the president.
On Wednesday – what Mr Trump calls “Liberation Day” – an additional 20 per cent blanket tariff will be imposed on imports from the rest of the world. How long this might last, or even if it will happen, remains open to question. That is not conducive to calming investors.
Leaders of nations, and businesses, cannot know from one day to the next what the tariffs will be aimed at: for example, the trade in fentanyl, migration, Nato contributions, or historical and existing trade policies. Nor do they know if these levies are just the opening salvo in a negotiation that might, on an optimistic reading, result in broadly lower tariffs after emergency talks between the various parties. (That seems to be the hope of the British government, at least.)
Are tariffs – the most beautiful word in the Trumpian lexicon – there to raise money for the US Treasury on a permanent basis, or to fund income-tax reductions and revive the US manufacturing industry, or are they just a political weapon, or a diplomatic tactic? No one knows, not even President Trump himself.
Whatever the answer, the world’s financial markets don’t seem to agree with his famous description of himself as a “stable genius”. To them, it appears, he is anything but.
The latest layer of uncertainty arises from the Ukraine peace talks. Mr Trump pronounced himself “very angry” with Vladimir Putin’s foot-dragging, and, indeed, so “pissed off” with the Russians that he’s prepared to impose “secondary sanctions” on Russia’s oil trade if need be.
That would mean further disruption for the Chinese and Indian economies, adding to the distress being felt by businesses and politicians in Europe and the Americas.
The fear among investors of a slump is well founded, even if it may not come to pass. A global trade war means a slowdown in trade and the mutual impoverishment of the world’s major economic blocs – pushing inflation and unemployment higher. That will mean generally smaller profits for companies, lower returns on investment, and thus lower values for shares.
The uncertainty extends to the prospect of a 1930s-style depression – history has shown us the effects of those Smoot-Hawley tariffs from almost a century ago, which made the world poorer and drove it steadily towards political extremism and war. Hence the sell-offs.
The good news is that the financial markets may still function as a guardrail – albeit the only one left – to restrain the excesses of the current White House. Mr Trump may dismiss or ignore Congress, the courts, international opinion, and even his own family. But traders and speculators wield real power, and can influence the actions of any president.
Mr Trump, wild as he is, is sufficiently a capitalist to understand that point, though his belligerent nature means he could take some time to face reality – and the fact that, even if he somehow took control of interest rates from the Federal Reserve, it would do more harm than good to the US economy, and to his own political prospects.
In America, middle-class voters are acutely aware of the value of the investments their pension funds make in stocks and shares, and they will not forgive a man who crashes their life’s savings.
In his first term, President Trump was unusually sensitive to market sentiment, and often bragged – with little justification – about his policies boosting the stock markets. These days, he seems more distant: he has admitted that his maverick trade policy will mean some distortion and adjustment, but he touts the (empty) promise of trillions of dollars in tariff revenues, and jobs for left-behind industrial areas.
His fixation on tariffs and his romanticised view of America’s proud manufacturing past give a powerful emotional drive to his policies, as does his instinctive and paranoid belief that America has long been taken for a ride by its more successful trading partners – Europe, Japan, Canada and China.
The truth is that the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, along with the “exorbitant privilege” thus endowed on the United States, has allowed Americans to live way beyond their means for many decades.
The world economic order has been generous to America, and to Americans. Perhaps the unease and instability in the markets might remind them that they’ve never had it so good, and make the White House think again about those not-so-beautiful tariffs.