Rory Stewart
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
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The other thing that I picked up, which we haven't discussed much for some time, is a reminder that the Saudi-UAE relationship is disintegrating very, very fast.
UAE being Dubai, Abu Dhabi against Saudi.
That matters because those are the two really most flamboyantly wealthy, powerful figures.
Qatar's influential, but those are the two that have really been driving foreign policy.
And these two figures, Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed,
in UAE, who were in lockstep.
They went together to war in Yemen.
They were very close to Trump.
And now a division has emerged.
Who managed to put out a tweet where his major demonstration of his skills was 30 press-ups with his Marine bodyguard.
It was impressive.
It was impressive, but on the other hand, is that really what we need from our senior diplomats?
What's Talleyrand?
Probably not, but tell me... Was Ernie Bevan known for his ability to do press-ups?
Is the whole skill of an ambassador being able to do 30 press-ups with your security team?
It's not, but... So why the hell is he dedicating his big launch to the social media team watching him do press-ups?
Two reasons, Rory.
On UAE, sadly, we'll return to that.