Charmer Starmer wins over Trump

Keir Starmer got a lot of flak for bending the knee to Donald Trump and flattering him at every available opportunity at a time when other leaders were denouncing the new president or staying away from him because of his unpredictability. But ever since the shocking scenes in the Oval Office when Trump and his vice president JD Vance harangued President Zelensky before the world's media, it became evident that the only way to have a decent chat with the US president was to smile and agree with everything he said. Starmer effectively did that and now everyone is saying his whole approach to the Trump conundrum has produced dividends. For a start, he has got himself the first trade deal that has come out of the White House. A deal is a deal, whether it's a terrific one or not. The trade deal Starmer has won, through his negotiators, isn't the perfect agreement but it's a beginning and it's better than no deal at all, which has been the case for years under successive British prime ministers. So, it's one up for Starmer.