By Philip Yeung
Britain is at it again—turning No. 10 Downing Street into a revolving door, and Westminster into a conveyor belt of short-lived leaders.
In the last 10 years, Britain has gone through six prime ministers, whose lack of political longevity is made famous by Liz Truss who, lasting only 49 days, is mocked for having the shelf life of a lettuce, leaving her looking like a squatter at No. 10.
The lettuce syndrome has now taken root in the UK body politic, threatening to shorten the political life of Labour's no-drama Starmer.
Britain's chaos began after Brexit. The initial euphoria of freedom from EU collective decision-making is gone, without giving the country a clear post-Brexit vision of what kind of society it wants to be. There is no afterglow following its divorce from Europe. Only pain and shrinkage.
The Conservatives burned through three prime ministers in five years. Labour's Starmer represents the return of sanity to British politics, except he moves at the slower, deliberate pace of a lawyer.
After the collapse of the British empire, geography defines its destiny. Britain has shrunk to a middle power that has lost its bearings, and at the mercy of a bullying US and an indifferent EU, while cold-shouldered by much of the world.
Starmer, true to style, has chosen to walk the middle ground, driving some disgruntled Labor supporters to the Green Party on the left and Reform on the right.
Britain now resembles a multiparty, rather than a basically two-party system. Worse, any governing party, be it Labor or PC, is so politically feeble that its top priority is survival, not national revival.
Will Labor suffer the same fate that has bedeviled the Conservatives? Weakness has invited ambitious rivals to lurk around in the belief that now is their moment. What may save Starmer's bacon is that there appear insufficient numbers to mount a successful leadership challenge.
As for the PC, it is led by a crackpot woman named Badenoch with a love for making sensational statements. She is still trapped in her narrow, misguided dangerous anti-China mentality, when Britain needs powerful trading partners to lower its cost of living and keep the world on an even keel. She talks like a tough customer, but she looks every bit as unhinged as Boris and Truss.
Britain's dizzying musical chair at the top is not good for the country. Until its leaders learn to think and act long-term, and free themselves from the concerns of election cycles, it will be stuck in short-term survival mode. Great Britain can't return to greatness until, like China, it thinks big, acts bold and plays the long game.
Brexit has turned the UK inwards--- consumed by a corrosive culture war, with the far right waging a so-called "Battle for Britain", fighting to secure a "future for white people", with the streets filled with anti-Islamic, anti-immigrant protests and hate speech.
The result is not to "unite the kingdom" but to divide it along color lines, leaving the country splintered into multi-tribalism: the soft left, the lunatic left, the centrist, the hard right, surrounded by counter groups calling themselves "Hope not Hate" Then, inevitably, others are wearing Trump-like copycat red "make England great again" hats, waging a "war on woke". What a mess. What a sorry sight.
Britain looks ungovernable. Brexit is nothing but its pandora's box, unleashing vicious demons that kill hope and harmony across the kingdom.
British politics is constipated. Starmer needs more time to relieve himself so that the country can feel whole again. He is learning from his rookie errors. In China, he has shown a strategic flexibility that capitalizes on the promise of partnership with this giant of the east.
Starmer proved a charmer in China, warming many Chinese hearts with his quiet diplomacy. He is someone China can do business with.
As for the likes of Lizz the lettuce, Boris the buffoon or verbal-diarrhea Badenoch with her obligatory China-bashing, China says, "Thanks but no thanks." Keep them at home for your domestic consumption.
Read more articles by Philip Yeung:
Opinion | Another crazy China spy case, another gross miscarriage of justice
Opinion | The subtext of Trump's China visit
Opinion | From 'whiff whaff' to 'ping pong'---how China table tennis conquers the world
Opinion | How King Charles's speech conquers the US Congress—viewed from China by a speechwriter
Comment