Britain will be America’s pet. But it’s Europe’s future that’s at stake

The EU risks irrelevance if it doesn't seek new purpose - and it won't find it in the fantasy of power projected by the G7

Beneath the strained bonhomie of the G7 summit lurks a visceral fear: that Joe Biden's bid to build a democratic alliance to stem the authoritarian tide led by China and Russia will split the world in two, leaving Europe, betrayed by Boris Johnson's turncoat Britain, to play piggy-in-the-middle.

Despite public applause for Biden's key message - that the US is back" after the xenophobic hyper-nationalism of Donald Trump - European leaders seem far from convinced. They worry the EU may be sucked into a second, limitless cold war, and that Biden, who will be 82 in 2024, could be unseated by a hawkish Trump or Trump clone.