Trump vs. Darroch: Whose Government Is 'Inept' and 'Dysfunctional?'

In this week’s brouhaha over the leaked cables from Britain’s Ambassador, Sir Kim Darroch, to his government in London describing the Trump Administration as “inept” and “dysfunctional,” Trump’s explosive reaction, and the Ambassador’s resignation, one central question has been assiduously avoided: what does Sir Kim mean by “inept” and “dysfunctional?”

While that is a good question in general, it becomes even more poignant in the case of a British Ambassador from Prime Minister Theresa May’s administration describing another government. To be blunt, the question for the ambassador is: compared to whom?

During the past 30 months of the Trump Administration during which Ambassador Darroch has served in Washington, his government in London has done what? Negotiated, renegotiated, and then re-renegotiated deals for Britain’s orderly withdrawal from the EU, each time unable to mobilize a majority in its own party to ratify those agreements.