The scene is set, and a lot of it is optics
Trump meeting offers Kenny a chance to defend canada goose outlet EU and
buy canada goose jacket An injured AP has agreed to take a sun holiday for a week to allow his shoulder time to recover, but he is a very reluctant traveller, and not, in fact, one bit agreeable. buy canada goose jacket
“It’s not all about you, you know,” his exasperated wife tells him at one point.
Canada Goose Coats On Sale Today, Enda Kenny will tuck a bowl of shamrock under his arm and head along to the White House for a much anticipated (in Ireland anyway) meeting with the US president. Canada Goose Coats On Sale
The list of important ‘Ireland’ topics to potentially address with Donald Trump is lengthy, and includes the fate of the 50,000 ‘undocumented’ Irish, foreign direct investment, corporation tax rates, Brexit, and Europe.
Canada Goose sale And we’ve long been told, often in hushed tones, the ‘Shamrock exchange’ is far more than a photo opportunity, with the access it has provided to US presidents and their administrations both valuable and helpful, making Ireland the envy of many countries. Canada Goose sale
cheap canada goose uk But, and you may have heard this, there’s a new sheriff in town. And if Mr Trump has any interest in helping to make Ireland great again, he’s done a fine job in concealing it to date. cheap canada goose uk
In fact, with the White House expected to be an altogether colder, more foreboding prospect for the Irish than St Patrick’s Day during the Obama or Clinton years, we will follow today’s canada goose outlet in usa events with jacketstockk a wary fascination: intrigued, a tad apprehensive, but ultimately expecting little or nothing to come of it. Much like the way we follow Mr Trump on Twitter.
Canada Goose Outlet Many commentators maintain Mr Kenny is in a no win situation. There’s the obvious difficulty of advancing the Irish agenda in the face of Mr Trump’s strident canada goose outlet washington dc views and long stated aims in many of the areas of conflict, the dangers of grandstanding against a much more powerful and unpredictable host who knows he already has the support of much of the Irish vote here, and the pressure to acknowledge some of the US president’s more controversial views while close enough to see that famous hairline. Canada Goose Outlet
buy canada goose jacket cheap But it is more likely Mr Kenny who has overcome bigger hurdles than Storm canada goose jacket outlet Stella in recent weeks to keep the appointment will see it as a no lose scenario. buy canada goose jacket cheap
Today, on the world stage (to some degree), he’ll be the latest politician faced with the seemingly impossible: to point out Mr Trump’s failings without angering him, perhaps, or to change Mr canada goose womens outlet Trump’s mind on immigration reform on the very day a new travel ban comes in. Today, he’ll be the centre of attention, one world leader engaging with the leader of the free world. Make Enda great again, anyone?
It’s certainly a long way from his humiliating “mea culpa” a few weeks canada goose outlet black friday back, when the latest controversy in the Garda whistleblower affair seemed to ensure his career was destined for the knacker’s yard, and at an uncomfortably fast clip. But, and without flogging an analogy to death, Mr Kenny has really always been a stayer and he’s managed to hang in for one final lap.
This week the Taoiseach, who has long been seen as a better leader when out of the country than at home, is far from that beleaguered figure struggling and misremembering in the Dil. Now he’s enthusiastic, energised walking around a freezing DC without a jacket, the ‘hail fellow, well met’ bonhomie to the fore and determined as the finishing post rapidly approaches.
Because, like AP, Mr Kenny has agreed to take a ‘holiday’ in a few weeks. He is also a somewhat reluctant ‘traveller’, aware he has little choice in the matter.
canada goose uk outlet And so, even though he would never be as unguarded as AP, today is largely all about Enda, and putting some spit and polish on his ‘legacy’. canada goose uk outlet
Of course, it would be foolish to think he will secure anything tangible from Mr Trump today, other than an attempt at a domineering handshake. And Mr Kenny is no fool.
uk canada goose outlet “When it comes to immigration, he has a canada goose outlet uk minimal chance of moving Trump or making an impact,” Tom Wright, of the DC based public policy organisation the Brookings Institution, said. uk canada goose outlet
But the opportunity to hold court as a European canada goose outlet in montreal statesman is an available, and principled, one. That will surely appeal. That will surely mean something to Mr Kenny.
“Mr Trump is the first American president to have a hostile attitude toward the European Union,” Mr Wright pointed out. “If the Trump administration tries to break up the EU, as many experts fear, the consequences could be catastrophic for Ireland and America,” he said. “Enda Kenny’s top priority must be to convince Trump he is wrong on Europe.
Mr Kenny has been making similar noises here about how he canada goose outlet canada intends to canada goose parka uk explain the European Union’s “full story” to Mr Trump during their meeting. The scene is set, and a lot of it is optics.
canada goose black friday sale It is Mr Kenny’s sixth visit to the White House as Taoiseach. It will also be his last. It is likely going to be his most difficult. He’s going to make the most of it canada goose black friday sale.
