The game is up for supranational organisations. Trump's America couldn't care less what the Davos crowd thinks. It has had a go at Nato. It is quitting the "biased" UN Human Rights Council. It is making it clear that it doesn't think much of the WTO: the White House is currently blocking all new appointments to the WTO court (the appellate body) in protest about its role. And Trump isn't giving the EU much quarter, either. Note the lack of concessions on trade and this week's dismissive tweet on immigration: "We don't want what is happening with immigration in Europe to happen with us".
The same trend is apparent in some EU countries and of course, in the UK Brexit is the obvious example, but our turn against money and power being misused in the global charitable sector fits the theme as well. This makes some sense. It is one thing to defer to outside agencies if they appear to be getting on with solving the world's problems. But if they aren't, then why wouldn't voters ask the people they actually elected to take on the management mantle?
There's something important in this growing rejection of international authority for the UK and its Brexit negotiations. The key is freedom of movement (FOM), and the fact that it isn't remotely immutable and that no EU countries are much into it any more. Remember the 2004 EU expansion? The ten new members got almost no FOM. The UK, Ireland and Sweden opened their doors. Everyone else kept them shut for up to seven years. The first Polish plumber entered Germany to work in 2011.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
You could argue that this was a one-off. Not so. As Nick Clegg writes in the Financial Times this week, the UK is not at all unique in its concerns about FOM. Other nations are now expressing the same concerns. You can see this in the rows over the Posted Workers Directive (which aims to limit wage competition when workers from the poorer EU nations move to the richer ones); in the way in which "Belgium has expelled thousands of unemployed EU citizens"; and in the fact that in Germany, EU nationals "have to apply for a residency card if they wish to work". Not exactly what you thought FOM was, is it?
It makes it clear (as German chancellor Angela Merkel says) that "the very foundations of the EU are at stake". Clegg and I agree on almost nothing to do with the EU. But I think we can agree on this "an overture from the rest of the EU to reform external and internal immigration could be just the compromise... needed to pave the way for a wider rapprochement" with the UK. For Clegg that might mean the end of Brexit. For me it means a more friendly Brexit. But you get the idea.
In today's democratically-active environment, supranational agencies need to stop lording it and start listening to their members or soon they won't have many left.
-
Domino’s Pizza faces £3m hit from the Budget - should you invest?Domino’s Pizza Group has forecast a £3 million tax hit following the Autumn Budget
-
How to boost your pension by £33,000 by paying it an annual Christmas bonusContributing an extra £400 into your pension pot this festive period will give the gift of compound interest and should make your retirement feel more jolly and bright
-
Beat the cost of living crisis – go on holidayEditor's letter As inflation rages, energy bills soar and the pound tanks, what’s a good way to save money this winter? Go on holiday, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
-
How capitalism has been undermined by poor governanceEditor's letter Capitalism’s “ruthless efficiency” has been undermined by poor governance, a lack of competition and central banks’ over-enthusiastic money printing, says Andrew Van Sickle.
-
Don't be scared by economic forecastingEditor's letter The Bank of England warned last week the UK will tip into recession this year. But predictions about stockmarkets, earnings or macroeconomic trends can be safely ignored, says Andrew Van Sickle.
-
The biggest change in the last 17 years – the death of the “Greenspan put”Editor's letter Since I joined MoneyWeek 17 years ago, says John Stepek, we’ve seen a global financial crisis, a eurozone sovereign debt crisis , several Chinese growth scares, a global pandemic, and a land war in Europe. But the biggest change is the death of the “Greenspan put”.
-
The wolf returns to the eurozone’s doorEditor's letter The eurozone’s intrinsic flaws have been exposed again as investors’ fears about Italy’s ability to pay its debt sends bond yields soaring.
-
Things won't just return to normal – that's not how inflation worksEditor's letter You might think that, if inflation is indeed “transitory”, we just need to wait and everything will return to “normal”. But this is a grave misunderstanding of how inflation works, says John Stepek.
-
Car hire and the strangeness of the post-pandemic economyEditor's letter A global shortage of hire cars and unusually high hotel occupancy rates sum up the post-pandemic global economy in a nutshell, says Merryn Somerset Webb, with enhanced demand meeting restricted supply.
-
Why we need to get a grip on our governmentEditor's letter Our government is trying to do too much, enacting policies that are destructive to the private sector. It needs to drop the the feel-good nonsense and create policies that lead to long-term wealth, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
