18 JULY 2016 • 9:30PM
Dear Boris,
Congratulations on becoming Foreign Secretary, one of the most fascinating jobs in the world. I know you well enough to know that you won’t mind if I send you some advice in our favourite newspaper, to which you often imparted your own innermost thoughts.
You take up this position as the world heads further into systemic volatility and unpredictability, to which your own persuasive powers have added the massive complication of exiting the European Union. But even many who disagreed with you about that, like me, want you to do well. Our new Prime Minister was very smart to appoint you to this job for several reasons, but one of them was that you could be very good at it.
So, from your predecessor but one, here are the 10 top pieces of advice that I can give in public:
1. Make the most of your unusual advantage of being both very well known and underestimated at the same time. You can ignore the ribaldry that has greeted your appointment in some quarters – wherever you travel, governments and people will want to hear the words of one of our most recognisable foreign secretaries in history. Travel a lot – the plane doesn’t break down every day, I assure you – and show all the inhabited continents the energy and internationalism of the United Kingdom. This job is about a lot more than Brexit.
2. Use that travel to show that we are strengthening friendships, old and new. From 2010 we restored relations with countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand to their proper level after Labour ministers rarely visited them. And we launched the Canning House Agenda, named after our illustrious Tory predecessor of the 1820s, to build new links in Latin America. Tour these places, along with South East Asia and Africa, and keep opening new posts to show Britain is getting more global, not less. You can afford it: the FCO has been cut less than most departments because its main spending reduction was hiving off the World Service to the BBC.
3. Reject the idea that Britain’s influence in the world will shrink as emerging powers get stronger. Some of those powers are not going to complete their emergence, and those that do are many years from managing peace and security in the world. As we raise our defence spending again, we should use our seat at the UN Security Council with confidence and not let the mistakes made over Iraq neuter our readiness to act. The worst thing that happened to me was Parliament refusing to take action in Syria, which emboldened Moscow, Assad and terrorist extremists alike. Be ready to intervene, carefully and judiciously, to prevent anarchy overseas.
4. Focus policy-making on Turkey and the Middle East, one of the key fault lines in international affairs. One of the many tremors from this produced your first weekend crisis – there won’t be many weekends without one, by the way – with the attempted coup in Turkey. Britain has a massive stake in a stable and well-governed Turkey, without which the security of the whole of Europe will be endangered and migration flows will spin out of control. We have more influence there than most countries: it’s worth trying to use it.
5. Prove your point that Europe is not the same as the EU by pushing initiatives in the south east of our continent. A settlement of the Cyprus question would be a huge boost for stability in the Mediterranean, and we have a key role as guarantor power. And the presence and influence of the UK in the western Balkans is vital to prevent it sliding backwards to confrontation. On these issues, your European counterparts will appreciate your help, however sceptical about you some of them appear at first.
6. Strike a careful balance on the other great fault line – the Asia Pacific. It has been right to put relations with China on a much better footing, but we should always make sure this is not at the expense of our long friendships with countries like Japan and the Philippines. Gently encourage a broader partnership on international issues between Beijing and Washington, which means quietly crossing your fingers that Donald Trump is not in the White House six months from now.
7. Talking of America, go there quickly to explain what will change and what won’t with Brexit. Being a strong ally, with a huge development budget, a deployable army, a renewed nuclear deterrent, vast soft power and a global centre of creativity doesn’t change, so Americans should put us at the front of their much-discussed queue for trade talks.
8. Use the great assets and connections of the UK to launch new initiatives to improve the condition of humanity. This is a country with a conscience, and it should always show it. Keep us at the forefront of global efforts to fight modern slavery, prevent sexual violence in conflict, and stem the record-breaking growth of numbers of refugees.
9. Be the one who makes it possible for a team of rivals to function, in the interests of the country. You and your fellow Leave campaigners, David Davis and Liam Fox, are now responsible for the details of leaving, and of new relationships. Insist on clarity about who does what, and that all ministers say exactly the same thing.
10. Build the Foreign Office into one of the great institutions of foreign policy thinking in the world. As you have seen already, it has a lot of excellent people in its ranks. They respond to a Foreign Secretary who knows what he wants, and asks them to perform. I reopened the FCO Language School, which our Labour predecessors senselessly closed, although I arrived too late to save the library they dispersed. I planned the Diplomatic Academy, which Philip Hammond supported and opened. Now it should be linked to the thinking and learning of our allies.
I found I was busier in this job than ever in my life – including as Leader of the Opposition. So I recommend using Chevening House, your new (shared) residence, for what it was meant for: moments of reflection. When you can keep Liam and David away, you will love its exceptional library. In weather like this I used to swim in the lake – although I didn’t have to worry about getting my hair wet.
You start with great goodwill. Please use it!
As ever, William
In quotes | Boris Johnson on other global figures and nations
On Turkish president Recep Erdoğan: "A w**r" who "sewed his wild oats with the help of a goat." (May 2016)
On Barack Obama: "The part-Kenyan president's ancestral dislike of the British empire." (April 2016)
On Donald Trump: "The only reason I wouldn't go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump." (December 2015)
On Hillary Clinton: "She has dyed blonde hair, pouty lips and a steely blue stare like a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital."(November 2007)
On the people of Papau New Guinea: "Orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing." (September 2006)
On George W Bush: "A cross-eyed Texan warmonger." (November 2003)
On the people of Congo: "Tribal warriors" with "watermelon smiles." (January 2002)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/18/dear-boris-heres-my-10-step-guide-to-being-foreign-secretary/
