And we’re back

I was obliged to emerge from my bunker earlier this week, after the tinned food that I’d squirrelled away during the pandemic ran out, to find that, Donald Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric notwithstanding, civilisation was still around, Trump having, to the surprise of just about nobody, backed down when his bluff was called.

I guess we’re not entirely out of the woods yet, since Trump is now faced with the problem of explaining why he embarked upon a course of action that has killed thousands of civilians, cost billions of dollars, and further alienated key allies, only to leave the US scrambling to make a deal on terms significantly worse than those the Iranian government was offering before the war began. In such circumstances he may be tempted to escalate the conflict, especially now he considers himself at least semi-divine, but the stock markets seem to be expecting some sort of resolution, which is probably all the reassurance we can hope for.

Meanwhile, back home, it looks like there may soon be a vacancy at the top of government again. Kier Starmer must have thought he had shored up his position a little by reading the public mood and keeping the UK well away from the Iran fiasco, but he has been back in crisis mode this week, after the Epstein/Mandelson scandal reignited with the revelation that the former Ambassador to the US was appointed despite failing his security vetting. Starmer’s defence – that it didn’t occur to him to enquire about this obviously important fact – doesn’t really inspire confidence in his judgement. He may survive until after the local elections next month, since none of his potential successors will want to be in charge as that anticipated disaster unfolds, but the country seems set for yet another summer of political instability.

Perhaps I should stock up on beans, and go back underground…