I'd beg to differ: after the fall of the Soviet Union, the US focus has shifted to the Middle East and to Asia in the 21st century. Europe is not as important as it was during the cold war. This was plainly apparent during the Obama (born in Hawaii, raised in Indonesia) administration; his successor has treated Europe as an enemy throughout the past four years.

Common language has long ceased to be the UK's unique advantage: English is now widely spoken all over the continent and Ireland is an English speaking country - and an EU member in good standing - that can "provide an easy interface to the EU", especially with the upcoming Joe "I'm Irish" Biden.

The "special relationship" is little more than Empire nostalgia and, or course, the post-colonial fascination of the US elites with the British upper-class symbols like The Economist or the Royals.

But let's not fool ourselves: Facebook European operations in Ireland are for tax reasons, not language reasons. And when the US magazine Politico opened shop in Europe, it did so directly in Brussels, in a joint-venture with a German press conglomerate.