Trump's threats could be a make-or-break test for NATO
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The public articulation by Donald Trump of a new desired target for NATO allies to spend 5% of national income on defence will surely plunge governments across Europe into crisis mode - not least here in the UK. Britain presents itself to the world and in particular to the United States as the biggest defence spender in Europe and NATO's most powerful European military.
Yet Sir Keir Starmer has not even managed to set out a timeline for what he describes as a "path to 2.5%" of GDP being invested in his armed forces, up from just over 2% today. If the prime minister merely sticks to this pledge, he risks being viewed by the new administration as woefully unambitious and not credible on defence.
Then there is the extraordinary threat by Mr Trump to seize Greenland by force if necessary, even though this valuable piece of territory belongs to a fellow NATO ally in the form of Denmark. The move - were it to happen - would demonstrate the limitations of the alliance's Article 5 founding principle.
It is supposed to guarantee that all allies would come to the defence of any member state which is under armed attack. But what about if the aggressor is also meant to be an ally?. The president-elect also appeared to dash any hope of Ukraine being offered membership to the alliance anytime soon - a core request of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
