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So the Prime Minister’s first official trip to the US is going off fairly uneventfully.  Not a great deal worth commenting on, a few titbits on the economy, a little on a 10 year old war, a few words on a global corporation engulfed in controversy and a wee chat on one of the biggest acts of terrorism ever.  Quite an easy first trip for Mr Cameron to embark on don’t you think?

The PM kicked off his first official visit to the US by writing an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal.  In this article he spoke of the ‘special relationship’ that encountered more attention and scrutiny than any other like it in the world.  He stated it was a relationship that served both national interests.  He acknowledged the UK’s role as the junior partner in the relationship but stated that the UK was a “self-confident country clear in our views and values, and we should behave that way.”  A bit of a puff piece really with a few personal comments aimed at demonstrating his “unapologetically” pro-American views.

But why is there such a furore surrounding the release of Abdelbaset al Megrahi?  The man was released almost a year ago by the Scottish Government.  What does President Obama and the Senators calling for an inquiry have to gain from dragging Mr Cameron across the coals?  The PM wasn’t the PM when the decision was made; he spoke out against the decision at the time, a point he reiterated in today’s WSJ article (“I never saw the case for releasing him, and I think it was a very bad decision.”); and finally it was a Scottish, not a UK decision as justice is a devolved power.

The argument goes that UK oil interests were at the heart of this and that the then PM Tony Blair came to an agreement over oil and a prisoner transfer agreement involving al Megrahi.  Firstly, the Scottish Government unequivocally opposed this agreement.  Secondly, why would the Scottish Government agree to help the UK Government gain oil interests?  Politically the release of al Megrahi does nothing for the SNP in seeking reelection so why would they go out of their way to help the UK Government control more oil when the UK Government doesn’t allow the SNP a say in how Scotland’s oil is managed?

But that’s when the penny drops.  What global company has been in the news a bit lately and has somewhat annoyed America as a whole, not just its politicians?  BP of course!  In the last few days BP have managed to finally shore up the leaking pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico and although the problem is a million miles from being resolved, at least some sort of progress is being made.

However, just as recently things haven’t been looking so well for the US economy.  New mortgages have fallen to an eight month low and retail sales have also fallen and given that consumer spending accounts for around 70% of the US economy President Obama is having a tough time convincing people that his economic stimulus is the right thing to do.

So what does a politician do when they are faced with trouble? They divert attention.  Despite BP plugging the leak for the time being the US Government can maintain their attacks on the company following up on allegations that they lobbied the UK Government for the release of al Megrahi.  This allows Obama to maintain BP as public enemy number one and also bring back up their disgust about the al Megrahi decision all the while diverting attention away from troubles at home.

In their joint press conference Cameron and Obama both reiterated their feeling that the decision to release al Megrahi was a very wrong, very poor decision.  However, Cameron went to great lengths to explain that it was a decision made by the Scottish Government without UK intervention.  He continued that he did not need a formal investigation into a decision he knew to be wrong.  He has since been asked by US senators to pursue a formal investigation into the release of al Megrahi.

However, the Prime Minister is not going to do this.  This Prime Minister has vowed to treat the Scottish Government with a Respect Agenda.  This Respect Agenda has faltered slightly in the eyes on some with Nick Clegg’s proposed referendum on voting reform falling on the same day as the 2011 Scottish election.  For Mr Cameron’s UK Government to order an investigation into a devolved matter would not be good politics. 

For President Obama on the other hand it is good politics to be seen holding the UK Prime Minister to account over BP and the release of al Megrahi.  The last thing Obama wants is for the US economy to be centre stage going into the mid-tern elections.  This is an international alliance that both leaders will use as a domestic political tool when necessary.  So it would seem even in the international arena when forging ‘special relationships’, all politics are local.

[The views expressed by Morhamburn people in their blogs are theirs and theirs alone. they do not represent the thoughts of the company as a whole or our clients. If you have a comment to make on any blog, please email info@morhamburn.com and we’ll put the printable ones up on the website]