Jonathan Powell
The Diplomat
People, composure and the difficult conversation held well.
Jonathan Powell is a seasoned diplomat and negotiator, known for his role in pivotal peace processes such as the Good Friday Agreement. This interview highlights his strategic approach to diplomacy, focusing on coalition-building and the complexities of negotiating with diverse stakeholders.
“For me, Northern Ireland actually changed my life. As I described, a pretty conventional sort of middle class diplomat and going into government, the thing that I did that I felt proudest of after the event, because at the time it was extremely painful, was flying over here once a week or once every other week to meet with Adams and McGui…”
“I'm not making a moral difference. I'm saying how would you know in advance that you were going to be able to sort out Kosovo, that you were able to get rid of Milosevic, that you actually haven't really sorted out Bosnia even that. Bosnia is still a complete mess, as you know. So I'm not making the moral.”
“They wouldn't make coffee either. We bought a coffee machine and brought it in, but they refused to make modern newfangled coffee. So we had to stick to tea. But it was, yeah, they were great. The places are completely inappropriate place to run a government from. It's absolutely ridiculous.”
“Yeah, they would see their job as pointing out the elephant traps to a minister. They've seen all these problems a million times before, and the minister is proposing something that's completely daft and didn't work last time. So let's give them a chance of talking himself out of the decision he's just made.”
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