Europe leaders incensed by David Cameron's letter.
Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel and José Luiz Rodríguez Zapatero have all criticised David Cameron for a private letter which he is believed to have sent to the Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, encouraging him not to ratify the Lisbon treaty.
This is just a taster of what life will be like if we elect a Tory leader. Their feverishly anti-Euro stance will put us at odds with the rest of the continent.It is understood that Cameron encouraged the Czech president to delay ratification of the Lisbon pact by setting out Tory policy to hold a referendum in Britain on the treaty if it had not yet been ratified by all member states.
The sources told the Guardian that:
• Sarkozy was overheard telling Gordon Brown that he was incensed by Cameron's letter, which the French saw as an attempt to wreck the Lisbon treaty.
• Merkel was also said to be upset by the Tory leader's letter. The German chancellor is understood to have echoed the concerns of senior figures in her Christian Democratic Union party, such as the former president of the EU parliament Hans Gert Poettering, that Cameron's behaviour had been untrustworthy.
• Zapatero, who addressed the Labour party's recent conference in Brighton and will have to negotiate directly with Cameron if the Tories win the general election – because Spain holds the EU's rotating presidency until July 2010 – made clear to diplomats that he regarded Cameron's letter as an attempt to scupper the treaty.
As Brown pointed out yesterday:
Brown yesterday used his appearance at the summit to launch a strong attack on the Tories' approach to Europe. Speaking of the Tory decision to abandon the main centre-right EPP grouping in the European parliament in favour of a smaller group consisting mainly of fringe parties from the hard right in eastern Europe, the prime minister said: "The Conservative party are standing apart from the mainstream in Europe. They are part of a very small group of minorities – of 23 people apart from the Conservative party. They are standing on the fringes of Europe. That is a huge mistake for British interests."The Tory party have been at war with each other over Europe ever since Heath joined the Common Market, and Cameron has now aligned them with the lunatic fringe of Europe in the hope of keeping the more extreme parts of his party satisfied until he is elected, when I fully expect him to move back to the centre and for all out war to break amongst the Tory rank and file.
In Europe, people are already dreading what lies ahead should Cameron come to power.
"A British Conservative cabinet would hugely complicate the government of Europe," said Charles Grant, director of pro-European think tank the Centre for European Reform. "You'll have a government that will probably try to unpick part of the Lisbon Treaty, maybe withhold budget payments, block accession (of new EU member states), who knows? They'll just create problems."British membership of Europe has always been regarded as suspect, due to our relationship with the United States and our refusal to sign up for the Euro; and the election of a Tory government, seeking to opt out from European social and employment laws, will only exacerbate the situation.
Grant told AFP that Cameron would likely soften his eurosceptic stance if he takes power, but warned this could take some time, saying his first few years in office could be "very disruptive".
Cameron has not even been elected yet and he is already annoying Merkel and Sarkosy, two European right wing leaders who one would normally expect to be in Cameron's camp.
But Cameron is seeking to reinstate the British opt-out which Blair gave up in 1997, something which could only be restored with the agreement of all member states. That agreement will not be forthcoming.
We are, once more, going to become Europe's pain in the arse. And all because the Tories find the notion that human beings should have rights somewhat repulsive.
It's lunacy. But I suppose that's what happens if we elect people who are simply insane on the subject of Europe to represent us there.
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2 comments:
Am curious what might have been the result in Britain had Blair's EU presidential bid been successful. Would it have sunk the Tories chances?
No, it would have made no difference to the chances of the Tories being elected, that's almost guaranteed.
It would simply have annoyed them to have to refer to President Blair. But the Tories look guaranteed to walk into power, even though none of us have any idea of what Cameron stands for.
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