Where in Europe are the Tories? Caroline Jackson challenges the British Conservative leader.
For many of Britain’s Tory MEPs June 11 2009 is a date which rushes upon them all too fast: it’s when Britain votes in the next European elections. So where will the Conservative Party stand on Europe? Will the Conservative group in the European Parliament be forced out of the EPP and into a strange alliance with some Czech MEPs? And will Tory leader David Cameron make “renegotiation” an election pledge, assuming that by then the Lisbon Treaty will have been ratified and implemented?
MEP Caroline Jackson has decided to go public with her concerns in the Financial Times, in the hope of triggering a more thoughtful debate in her party. She warns of “a very nasty patch of poisonous fungus” among the green leaves of the party’s symbolic tree. She wants David Cameron to have the courage to admit he was wrong and to take Europe seriously.
The Conservative leader is certainly a pragmatist, working to find traction in the slippery middle ground of British politics. See Nick Robinson’s blog profile which asks just ‘What does Cameron think?’.
Cameron’s attitude to Europe seems to be among his more cynical ploys, designed to keep at bay the challenge from the UK Independence Party, to provide some red meat for the right wing of his own party yet to send a message to the British electorate that Europe is of no significance. He barely recognises the existence of the Conservative EP group and runs the risk that some MEPs will leave the party altogether and make common cause with the Lib Dems.
The big prize for Cameron would of course be victory in the British general election, which could also be in 2009 (how about June 11 2009?). It will take a landslide to give the Conservatives an overall majority and the Lib Dems could well be the king makers in a hung parliament at Westminster. They also have the chance to mount a big challenge in the European elections.
The open question is whether Cameron will change his strategy as elections come closer and the prospect of government becomes reality. These are indeed tense times for the pro-European MEPs in the Tory group.
