Old men on manoeuvres

As Joe Biden arrived in Germany for a valedictory visit, King Charles III touched down in Australia - what's going on?

Australia's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, an avowed republican, is doubtless hoping Charles' arrival in Sydney for his first visit as Monarch will also be his last in that capacity. Given the care that has been taken to limit Charles' itinerary and allow him plenty of opportunity to rest up while undergoing cancer treatment, this visit, at age 75, may well be his final one. Charles and Camilla are not getting any younger and an almost 24-hour flight via Singapore, albeit in luxurious conditions, would be taxing at any age. Removing Charles, his heirs and successors as Australia's Head of State could take some time yet, however. Old habits die hard but this trip could prove decisive in settling the matter once and for all. The stakes are very high for both parties.

For 81 year-old Biden, his trip to Berlin is all about legacy. The ostensible reason for going is to receive the Order of Merit Grand Cross (special class) from Germany's President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, "in recognition of his contributions to both the German-American friendship and the transatlantic bond..." for which read the NATO alliance. With every possibility of Donald Trump - no fan of NATO as we know - returning to the White House, and Vladimir Putin showing no signs of backing down in his invasion of Ukraine, it is not surprising that the German government is getting twitchy. Biden's show of support must also be sending a clear signal to his party's Presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, not to drop the baton should she win.

In September 87 year-old Pope Francis made two trips, which must have been personally gruelling, the first on account of the distance travelled and the second due to a strong degree of scepticism about, if not hostility towards, the Catholic Church in the host countries. His Holiness' Asia-Pacific jaunt took in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore which, at just under a fortnight, constituted his longest foreign trip. At the end of the month he then visited Luxembourg and Belgium where he received criticism for the sexual abuse scandals amongst the clergy and for his views on the role of women in the church. He was also suffering 'flu so one imagines he was rather relieved to return to the Vatican - perhaps regretting the days when Popes only left it for the summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo - for a bit of R 'n' R.

President Vladimir Putin (72) of the Russian Federation, himself a great traveller, finds his options somewhat limited nowadays after an arrest warrant was issued against him for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 17 March 2023. This is the first such to be brought against the leader of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Undeterred, he travelled to Beijing in May to meet President Xi Jinping of China and has visited several other friendly countries unlikely to serve the warrant, such as Belarus, North Korea, Vietnam and Turkmenistan. Nevertheless, he must hope on such trips that his plane is never diverted to a country where the UN's writ runs, a tactic with which he is all too familiar, of course.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel (74) flew to New York on 27 September to address the United Nations General Assembly, not that many delegates remained in the chamber to hear it. On 29 December 2023 South Africa had instituted proceedings against him at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging crimes against humanity. ICC judges are now reviewing the evidence presented by Prosecutor, Karim Khan, to determine whether arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in his war cabinet will be issued. Israel under Netanyahu's leadership is rapidly becoming a pariah state.

The world is becoming much smaller - uncomfortably so for some.



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