Southern’s strike continues for a second day today – spelling more misery for commuters. And the Sun knows who is to blame for the disruption: the ‘hard-left’ who are willing to ‘inflict misery on the public for political ends with impunity’. The Sun says that it’s time for a crackdown on strikes. It says the proposal apparently being put forward by some ministers – to block walkouts only backed by a small number of union members – doesn’t go far enough. Instead, the paper says, it’s time to force unions to ‘prove a dispute’s legitimacy in court or face ruin over a strike’s consequences’.
The Daily Telegraph agrees with the view that these strikes are motivated by political reasons, saying that the safety reasons being put forward for the industrial action are ‘spurious’. Instead, the paper argues, ‘this is about targeting a private-sector employer and a Conservative Government’. So what can be done to bring an end to this crippling industrial action? The paper suggests it’s time for ministers to get tough. It says that ‘since the Government agreed the contract with Govia, it falls to the Government to resolve its failings’. And the paper goes on to say that if Govia – the company that owns Southern – doesn’t resolve things soon, the Government should consider suspending the company’s contract. ‘Operators, like the trade unions, should be reminded that the purpose of the railways is to serve passengers,’ the paper concludes.
In the Times, it’s Donald Trump’s choice of Rex Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon, as his secretary of state that raises eyebrows. The president-elect is making a clear signal of his bid to reinvent government, the Times says. But while Trump has come in for criticism for appointing an outsider like Tillerson, ‘there is no harm in thinking big,’ the paper argues. It says Tillerson’s close relationship with Russia could ‘help to end a dangerous impasse in US-Russian relations’. It might also be part of Trump’s thinking to try and ‘curb China’s vaunting ambition’, the paper goes on to suggest. But there are dangers too. It argues that Tillerson hasn’t done much to stick up for ‘American values’ – despite the long-standing idea that ‘championing democracy and freedom’ is ‘a cornerstone of American diplomacy’, the paper says. The Times concludes by saying that while Tillerson may be a proven deal maker, deals alone are not enough to succeed in politics – and neither are they ‘the same as enduring alliances based on shared, enlightened values’. And Trump and Tillerson must show they understand that.
The FT says Trump’s core team ‘reflects the man himself’. But what to make of Tillerson? The paper adopts a sensible approach in saying it’s important to judge Trump’s new secretary of state by his actions when he actually makes it to office. In its editorial, the FT says that while ‘much has been made’ of Tillerson’s Russian links, it’s important to remember that ‘running a global oil group’ without such ties would be ‘impossible’. What’s more, it’s clear, says the FT, that Tillerson is a man of ‘respectable competence’ and ‘unlike some of the other candidates for the post, does not seem to be a zealot’.
Meanwhile, the Guardian discusses Britain’s options for trade deals after Brexit. The Chancellor Philip Hammond talked up the prospect of a transitional agreement between the UK and the EU earlier this week. But what does the Guardian make of this suggestion? The paper says this approach is ‘obvious’. After all, ‘Who would jump out of a plane first and think about organising a parachute afterwards?’.
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