Sir Keir Starmer returns to the EU like a moth to the flame. He seeks friendship where they seek revenge for Brexit.
In his short time as PM, he has had five meetings with the Chancellor of Germany. Opinion polls tell him that Mr Scholz has little time left in office as he awaits a bad defeat in the federal election.
Sir Kier has not learned from his efforts to assist Joe Biden against President Trump, interventions which damaged his relations with the most powerful politician in the world who today could offer him a free trade deal and much else.
He should be meeting the German CDU leader and learning from him how to control migration, a crucial issue in their election.
Starmer has been attacked for cosying up to the EU and not embracing Brexit
PASir Kier feels more at ease in Brussels than in London. He once told us he preferred Davos to Westminster.
He has promised the electorate a reset of the UK's relationship with the EU when the voters want him to stay at home, cut migration and boost our prosperity. His Chancellor goes in search of the growth she destroyed with her high tax, high spend, borrow too much budget.
She hopes his diplomacy can deliver more UK exports to the flatlining economies and grumpy governments of Europe.
The PM hasn't come up with any growth raising demands from the EU they are likely to grant as he stumbles from meeting to meeting in search of a magic bullet that does not exist.
He should remind himself three of our largest exports are oil, refined oil products, and petrol vehicles. These are all activities the government is cutting back by bans, high taxes, and regulations.
The EU saw him coming. They know what they want. They want more UK money, more of our fish, more of our defence support like the good old days for them when we were in the EU.
They saw us as Treasure island to plunder. Knowing how easy it was to run rings round the UK officials as they did to Mrs May over Brexit, they want us to sign up to young people's freedom of movement, to a bigger defence obligation outside NATO, to accepting their single market laws and rules and to join them in a tariff war against the USA.
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Starmer became the first UK PM to have dinner with the EU27 leaders last month
PA MediaSir Kier says he is such a good diplomat he can do a special deal with the USA at the same time as resetting the free trade deal we already have with the EU.
He seems oblivious of the way he and his colleagues have annoyed the USA. Giving the Chagos US naval base at Diego Garcia away to a friend of China is inflammatory, as well as bad for UK taxpayers.
Choosing Lord Mandelson as Ambassador did not go down well. Now showing every sign of siding with the EU in the imminent trade battle between a protectionist Europe and an angry US President is far from helpful.
What is so galling is President Trump has shown every sign of being a man wanting a deal with the UK. He likes our country, invests his own money in it and is a fan of our royal family.
The UK should be rushing to Washington with a draft free trade treaty, the offer of an early state visit, the cancellation of the Chagos give away blaming President Biden who liked the idea, and proposals to buy more US energy as we are short of supplies at home.
Instead, our Prime Minister is in danger of giving into an EU keen to send us more people, to take more of our fish and to prevent us using Brexit freedoms to grow faster.
Locking ourselves into closer alignment with slow growing EU will not enrich us. Why does Sir Kier want to be in the slow lane?
Why does he not grasp the big prize of a trade deal with the USA when tariffs are threatened?
What does he think Chancellor Scholz will be able to do for him after the German election?
When betting on international horses you need to back winners who grow fast.
