This week’s visit to Washington, DC by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was a triumphant marker in his pragmatic path on foreign and defence policy.

He steered between deference and defiance to fashion an Australian style of alliance management in these Trumpian times of volatility and extreme national self-interest.

Full Button Jacket: President Donald Trump (left) greets Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House.Credit: AP

Not only did Australia avoid the public tribulations endured by other allies – notably Canada and Europe – but the PM walked away with substantial outcomes on defence (the preservation of AUKUS) and economic security (a major deal on critical minerals and rare earths). Plus a good quotient of dignity remained intact, his and our nation’s.

The media and opposition fuss over President Trump’s comments about past criticisms from ambassador Kevin Rudd are beside the point. Indeed, if every victory worth having involves some degree of sacrifice, then Rudd took one for the team, and thus his dignity too is preserved.

The bigger story here is that the Albanese government has regrounded the alliance in its pragmatic traditions. These have always been much more about interests than values, whatever former ambassador Joe Hockey’s PR campaign “100 Years of Mateship” would have had us believe.

Our government is casting the alliance not as some unchangeably sacred edifice or an interest unto itself, but as part of a dynamic set of arrangements and capabilities for........

© The Sydney Morning Herald