The PM’s transactional strategy trumps the president
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is pursuing a transactional diplomatic strategy to manage relations with President Donald Trump. Despite Trump's aggressive tariff policies and economic pressure on allies, Albanese aims to maintain the long-standing ANZUS alliance while protecting Australia's economic interests.
Why it matters
This reflects the delicate balancing act required by middle powers when navigating the 'America First' foreign policy of the United States.
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Share A A A Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has had a tough five weeks in trying to manage “melongate” . He may well heed the advice of James Massola, chief political commentator of this masthead, to forge a “strategic retreat” when a nasty issue undercuts the PM’s standing and authority. But that is not the case when it comes to how the PM deals with President Donald Trump. Albanese has deliberately decided that it is in Australia’s interests to pursue and lock in granular transactional engagements that will not only continue 100 years of mateship (coined by Joe Hockey, a former ambassador to the US) and the 74-year-old ANZUS alliance, but will also keep Australia out of harm’s way on Trump’s chessboard.
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