In September last year, centrists lost their minds when Green Party leader Zack Polanski dared to suggest that NATO is over. Fast forward to now, and Donald Trump is threatening to invade a NATO member while Labour politicians squirm:
Turns out it was Trump that undermined NATO and Zack was insanely correct. https://t.co/8zJoKGAwiz
— Alexander Louis Sallons (@sallonsax) January 5, 2026
Realism from Polanski
Polanski has voiced his support for leaving NATO, albeit not “immediately”. In October, he said:
Once we’ve created an alternative alliance with our European neighbours, we should absolutely be looking at a different way that is focused on peace and diplomacy, rather than on nuclear weapons.
In May last year, before he became the Green Party leader, Polanski said:
Clearly NATO has got a lot more complex since Donald Trump has become President, and I don’t think anyone should consider him a reliable ally…
I think the age of NATO is now fully over.
‘Outrageous!‘, many sputtered in response to these statements. And yet now, America – the lynchpin of NATO – is openly threatening NATO members:
Trump replaces the word “want” with “need” as he sets his sights on Greenland next:
“We [USA
] NEED Greenland”
An out of control authoritarian, imperialistic Emperor who couldn’t give a toss for International law
The world must respond
Isolate
— Howard Beckett (@BeckettUnite) January 5, 2026
While Starmer and ministers initially refused to defend our NATO ally, they have belatedly offered some criticism. No doubt they realised how unhinged it looked to not speak out:
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer:
“The future of Greenland is for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone.”#UK #Greenland #Denmark #Trump pic.twitter.com/GLxg2W7g94
— TheWarPolitics (@TheWarPolitics0) January 5, 2026
It’s obviously not reassuring that Starmer looks terrified (yet again), but the above is just about better than nothing. To be clear, though, the fence sitting hasn’t stopped (as Polanski pointed out):
No one is asking you to be a commentator, @wesstreeting.
Asking you to be a government minister when the whole world can see Trump breaking international law whilst threatening Greenland next, and the Cabinet (with Nigel Farage) seems perfectly fine with it. https://t.co/oaqqSXqb98
— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) January 6, 2026
We all know Streeting wants to replace Starmer, but clearly he’d be every bit as weak as our current PM.
This is the end
For a long time, NATO members got to enjoy the safety of standing behind the bully. In return, they had to join in when bully lashed out. Now, the bully is looming over us, and it doesn’t seem open to appeasement.
Denmark, after all, was a ‘model’ NATO member:
Denmark is too small to deter enemies alone. For decades its solution has involved signalling that it is an unusually willing member of NATO. Unfortunately for the kingdom, America has lost its appetite for policing the world https://t.co/1UOhKRQ4CH
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) November 19, 2025
Of course, there are those who say Polanski doesn’t go far enough in his criticism of NATO, and that ‘leaving immediately’ should be the policy. Obviously it’s good to consider a wide variety of opinions, and we need to constantly be mindful that while practical politics can require compromise, compromise can be the death of progress.
People can reach their own conclusions on the Green Party’s NATO stance, but we can say this: following Trump’s statements on Greenland, NATO is finished as a serious entity, even if people continue to use its branding and propaganda.
Featured image via Labour
By Willem Moore
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