Has BP oil spill damaged the US-UK 'special relationship'?
| Washington
In simpler times, President Obama and new British Prime Minister David Cameron might have been placing a friendly bet over Saturday鈥檚 US-England World Cup match when the two leaders talk by phone this weekend.
But before they can talk sports, the two top representatives of the US-UK 鈥渟pecial relationship鈥� have to address more pressing issues like Afghanistan. And then there鈥檚 the mounting fallout from BP鈥檚 handling of the BP oil spill and environmental disaster.
With the British press and even some officials increasingly seeing attacks on Britain itself in the president鈥檚 and his administration鈥檚 criticisms of BP, Mr. Cameron has sought to calm the waters. During a visit to Afghanistan Thursday, he said the oil spill would no doubt be part of what his office says is a 鈥渞outine鈥� phone conversation, but he ducked pointed questions about an anti-British side to criticisms of BP.
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鈥淚 completely understand the US government鈥檚 frustration because it鈥檚 an environmental catastrophe,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he most important thing is to mitigate the effects of the leak and get to the root of the problem.鈥�
That was a passionless response worthy of the erstwhile 鈥渃ool Obama.鈥� But as Obama鈥檚 rhetoric has ratcheted up over the course of the continuing oil leak 鈥� and as BP鈥檚 stock price has continued to slide 鈥� more British voices have sounded alarms over what they consider to be growing anti-British sentiment in the White House.
In this environment, both leaders need to be politically agile, some transatlantic experts say.
Holding emotions in check
鈥淭his is a relationship with a plate of issues that鈥檚 already running over, with everything from Afghanistan and plans for British defense cuts to financial regulation,鈥� says Heather Conley at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want this disaster and its implications to become a distraction, but that can happen if some of the emotions aren鈥檛 held in check.鈥�
鈥淎s the pictures and reports of the impact [of the leak] pour in, it鈥檚 going to be all the more difficult for Obama to keep things on an even keel,鈥� she adds.
The most alarmist remarks emanated from London鈥檚 city hall, where Mayor Boris Johnson cited as a 鈥渕atter of national concern鈥� the 鈥渁nti-British rhetoric that seems to be permeating from America.鈥�
鈥淲hen you consider the huge exposure of British pension funds to BP it starts to become a matter of national concern if a great British company is being continually beaten up,鈥� said Mr. Johnson, a member of Cameron鈥檚 Conservative party
Financial experts estimate that BP dividends account for as much as 16 percent of all stock payouts that UK pensioners receive.
Another British Conservative, Norman Tebbit, summed up the US criticisms of BP as scapegoating for America鈥檚 inability to solve its own problem: 鈥淭he whole might of American wealth and technology is displayed as utterly unable to deal with the disastrous spill 鈥� so what more natural than a crude, bigoted, xenophobic display of partisan, political, presidential petulance against a multinational company?鈥�
The British press, and not just the tabloids, took off and ran with those quotes, adding their own observation that the Obama administration has 鈥渕ade a point,鈥� as the Times of London said, of using BP鈥檚 former name 鈥� 鈥淏ritish Petroleum鈥�.
A search of the White House website, Obama鈥檚 own comments over the last six weeks, and White House spokesman Robert Gibbs鈥檚 copious discussions of the oil spill reveal no wholesale reference to 鈥淏ritish Petroleum,鈥� although the outdated name is sprinkled in among repeated references to BP.
What appears to have set off the pique-on-the-Thames was Obama鈥檚 observation earlier this week that he would have fired BP CEO Tony Hayward by now.
Obama says he'd fire BP's CEO
On NBC鈥檚 Today show Tuesday, Obama said in reference to some of Mr. Hayward鈥檚 public comments 鈥� complaints about how the spill has consumed his personal time, and his observation that 鈥渢he environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest鈥� 鈥� that 鈥渉e wouldn鈥檛 be working for me after any of those statements.鈥�
Then on Capitol Hill, several members of Congress said they wanted to know if the US government could issue an injunction to stop BP from paying out dividends on its shares. Those inquiries reflected growing frustration among Gulf fishermen and other business people that BP鈥檚 payouts to them have been slow and paltry.
Still, the comments from Obama and Congress prompted the head of the Confederation of British Industry to proclaim in a statement, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a matter of concern when politicians get heavily involved in this way.鈥�
CSIS鈥檚 Ms. Conley says it鈥檚 unrealistic to think politicians, and especially a country鈥檚 leader, wouldn鈥檛 become involved in a disaster of such magnitude. But she says it鈥檚 important to remember that 鈥淏P is a company, it鈥檚 not a country.鈥� She notes, for example, that 40 percent of BP鈥檚 shares are held by Americans.
Says Conley, 鈥淲hat you are seeing on full display is interdependence 21st-century style.鈥�
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