Sunday 1 January 2017

Issues for the year ahead in 2017 - Article 50, Brexit, Trump as leader of the free world + elections in France + Germany will dominate

For us in the UK Brexit is clearly going to matter hugely as Article 50 is triggered in March and we embark on the 2 years of negotiations.
What Trump does as American President is going to matter massively. Is he going to be a Reagan style politician who is pro business, jobs and growth? I hope so. The jury is out but I am pleased to see him dumping some of his campaign promises.
But I suspect that the French and German Elections and their impacts will be all the more important: if Le Pen wins and Merkel loses then it is hard to see the European project surviving. This will impact on the UK.