As if we need any further evidence that as close a relationship as the press would have us believe there is between Cameron and Merkel you can never rely on Germany, or Europe, to ever defend Britain’s interests.
Here is the back drop; Europe is burdened with the following caustic mix of liabilities: a lethargic group of borderline recessionary economies, huge debt, low growth, deflation, high long term unemployment, and yet they still have the temerity to talk about our so called ‘overheated’ property market and that we should be initiating by way of a Mansion Tax or raising Council Tax. What a cheek!
You’d think that they would try to model their economies on the UK where we are growing faster than any other country in the G7, with unemployment dropping like a stone, inflation under control and a herculean effort to reduce our budget deficit.
They need to ‘ape’ us not chastise us!
The Euro sceptic unrest that we see all over Europe is a direct result of the populace being ‘sick and tired’ of being dictated to by unelected European politicians and who can blame them?
Europe was originally designed as a group of trading nations with a good exchange of co-operation and fiscal free barriers. Germany and its sycophantic partner France over the years have tried to corral the disparate group of European nations into a Federal Europe without consulting their populace. This is a ‘top down’ revolution and was always going to end in tears.
Germany look upon the Euro as a form of devaluation (of their defunct Deutsche Mark) allowing them to sell their goods to Europe and the rest of the world at an effectively discounted price and every new nation ‘hoovered up’ by Europe represents another basket of consumers for their goods. In other words they’re all right Jack!
As long as France can keep their inefficient, heavily subsidised and bureaucratic Agricultural Policy, their nationalised industries and their arthritic social and labour arrangements, and, can sidle up to their rich partner Germany, they’re all right too.
In 1992 when the UK was petering on the brink of a full blown currency crisis (having been forced to sign up to the wrong rate in the ERM) which lone voice pushed us over the precipice into the devaluation abyss? Mr. Helmut Schlesinger, President of the Bundesbank from Germany, and his unhelpful remarks that precipitated the problem……gee, thanks!
We can always rely on our European partners, Germany and France, to let us down when we need them most.
The Tories are absolutely right to offer the UK a referendum once they have completed a ‘grass root’ re-negotiation of terms.
I was sure that the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker, as President of the European Commission, would go ahead but it does look as though Madame Lagarde form the IMF may just pip him to the post. Maybe Dave’s rhetoric paid off here.
Europe needs a statesman like person to lead from the front and give this new colossus an identity and raison-d’être. But they will always gravitate to a ‘ludnik’ and this time a federalist ‘ludnik’ hence Mr. Juncker.
Oh dear, what a mess and these are the people who are meant to cede sovereignty to and who will dictate and shape our future. ‘Saints preserve us’ as The Rev’d Ian Paisley would say.