Macron makes a smart move

Emmanuel Macron is a smart politician. The French president masterminded the G7 summit in Biarritz with diplomatic elegance, keeping Trump happy while getting his agenda well aired during the get-together, with only the climate-change session taking place without the presence of the US president. But Macron's coup de grace was his sly invitation to the Iranian foreign minister to fly to Biarritz for a chat about the 2015 nuclear deal and all the trouble that has occurred since the US withdrawal as one of the signatories. That was a smart piece of theatre. But he took the precaution of tipping off Trump first and asking whether he thought it would be a good idea. Trump said fine. So the chat took place between Macron and Mohammad Javad Zarif at the French seaside resort. As far as we know there was no mingling with US officials, let alone with Trump, but the US president had given his blessing, so the Macron gamble paid off. I doubt it will lead to any change of mind in the White Houe that the 2015 nuke deal was bad bad bad, but it can't do any harm for the very affable Iranian foreign minister to be in the same French resort as the seven leaders of the world's biggest economies, albeit only chatting with one of them, Macron. Monsieur Macron is so French! He cuts a stylish figure, unlike ruffled Boris, he believes in the power and subtlety of French diplomacy and he had the sense to butter up to Trump to make sure the gamble with Javad Zarif didn't come crashing down on his head. Now if he had invited Bashar Assad to join him for lunch in Biarritz, that might have been a gamble too far. But the presence of the Iranian foreign minister who knows everyone in the West was a clever move. And Macron got away with it. Angela Merkel appeared not have been given much notice of Zarif's imminent arrival but being the trooper she is, she pronounced heself satisfied with the arrangements when a reporter asked her whether she had known beforehand. I guess if Macron had told everyone well in advance that he was going to invite Zarif, it would probably have caused such consternation, especially because of the fear of pissing off Trump, that the idea would have been scrapped. So Macron kept his idea close to his chest and gave due notice to Trump in a nicely need-to-know conspiratorial fashion which the US president would probably have enjoyed. So, M Macron, well done. An added bit of political theatre which did no harm.