Left Wing, Right Wing: Thoughts from the (new) Politics Editor

11/05/2018

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By Niamh Carroll

In my first column as Politics Editor, I would like to lament the loss of my formerly boring subject. In my 2015 A-Level Politics class we found events such as Ed Miliband's stone tablets with Labour's election promises and the subsequent election of Jeremy Corbyn (who "wouldn't last months") completely sensational. How naive we were. Over the last few years, everything has changed, and you'd be a fool to make any long-term bets. This week threw up another surprise; who would have believed, even six months ago, that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un would be discussing halting his nuclear weapons programme? This week saw the historic summit between the leaders of North and South Korea. The meeting was surprisingly cordial and had a tone of optimism that has sparked hope about the future of the Korean peninsula. US President Donald Trump, ever humble, has claimed credit for his role in facilitating the meeting. Only a few months ago, relations between the US and North Korea seemed to be reaching boiling point, after a series of fiery exchanges between Trump and Kim Jong-Un. But now two men who once labelled other each a "dotard" and a "little rocket man" are scheduled to meet, a historic move for any US President. While Trump proclaiming credit for himself is hardly surprising, it seems he is not the only one who believes he had a role in facilitating greater relations on the Korean Peninsula. Earlier this week, South Korean President Moon Jaein said, "President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize." While many would balk at the idea of the same President who tries to ban refugees from entering the US and who thinks it's acceptable to "grab her by the pussy" winning a Nobel Peace Prize, personally, I support the idea. I hope Trump and Kim Jong Un's meeting is the greatest, hugest diplomatic meeting on record and that they manage to solve Korea's problems. I hope Donald Trump wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Contemporary world politics resembles some unfeasible TV drama which has been commissioned for one season too many and is having to pull outrageous plotlines out of the bag in a desperate attempt to keep its viewers interested. Having almost used up all storylines, the next twist must be a US President getting a Nobel Peace Prize and being impeached for paying 'hush money' to a porn star in the same year. Who, two years ago, would have predicted this could be a feasible scenario?