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Friday, June 27, 2014

What do Wayne Rooney, Rambo and Don Quixote have in common?

The script is written and the scene is set: Cameron will go down fighting in his bid to prevent Jean-Claude Juncker from becoming the Commission President with only Viktor Orban for company. While this has earned him some relatively positive headlines in the British press, the German press has not wasted an opportunity to stick the boot in.

According to Bild, “Cameron is becoming more and more the Wayne Rooney of EU politics: he lines up, he loses, he goes home.” The paper adds that:
"Great Britain and Hungary - this is not the strongest alliance in the EU. This could be a foretaste of what could happen if the Brits decide leave the EU in the 2017 referendum announced by Cameron. Instead of taking part in the largest and most economically significant association of states in the world, the Brits will be locked outside. The relevance and influence of Great Britain will fall dramatically."  
Die Welt describes Cameron as “the loneliest man in Europe”, and earlier this week likened him to "Rambo" - running in head first all guns blazing. FAZ’s London correspondent Jochen Buchsteiner describes the Cameron as the “Don Quixote” of EU politics, noting that “a majority of Brits see him as a hero – even when he comes back home beaten.”

Of those three, we suspect Rambo is the most favourable comparison, even if it was not meant as such. At least, Rambo is usually the only guy left standing once the credits start to roll. 

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

This whole sad and sorry saga reminds me of the FFT and how it was all of the EU v the UK. The EU nations lining up like blind sheep behind Merkel and Sarko.

It seems to me that if you have a different opinion to that of the Federalists then they bully you, ignore you and try to ridicule you. How is this in the best interests of any EU nation?

Anyhow, let's see how the EU copes when it has c.EUR20Bn less to waste every year when we leave. Can't wait!

SC

Jesper said...

What does the french press say about Hollande and his decision to back the opposite of who the french electorate backed?

Anonymous said...

@Jesper: The French are probably less self-minded on this issue and see the truth: the center-right won the election and their top candidate will get the job. That's how democracy work and you have to accept that your candidate can lose sometimes.

Jesper said...

Well anon, not sure if there was a winner.

If the president bothered he could find a candidate between the extremes instead of surrendering to one extreme. Find a compromise.

The treaties are open for a lot of interpretation, he could fight for the citizens he's supposed to be working for. He could block this candidate and find a better one.

Now, he's not using his power for France nor for democracy, he's simply surrendering. No compromise, the extremists are left to win by walkover. Happy days for the winning side, sad day for democracy and rule of law.

Guillaume said...

To quote Le Monde: "The person who has as visceral opponents the British Eurosceptic David Cameron and the Hungarian ultra-nationalist Viktor Orban cannot be a bad guy."

Denis Cooper said...

Don Quixote, Cameron thinks he's a great champion but in reality he's just tilting at a windmill.

However the puzzle is why his highly paid and expert legal advisors don't tell him that he's objecting to something which has merely developed from Article 158 of the Maastricht Treaty as agreed by Major.

Who also tried to present himself as a hero, indeed a conquering hero.

There aren't many of the original reports of the time still around on the internet, but here is one:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/game-set-and-match-to-britain-says-prime-minister-major-master-stroke-clinches-an-ec-deal-1.809238

"Game, set, and match to Britain, says Prime Minister Major master stroke clinches an EC deal

From Political Editor GEOFFREY PARKHOUSE in MAASTRICHT

Wednesday 11 December 1991

THE Maastricht Summit produced a historic treaty this morning, with the Prime Minister's signature stamped firmly on it. ''It is game, set and match for Britain,'' he said."

Then look down towards the bottom of that article:

"On European Parliament powers, Mr Major made concessions but only on minor matters."

Eh, yes, before Maastricht the EU Parliament had absolutely nothing at all to do with the appointment of the members of the EU Commission and/or its President, that having always been the sole prerogative of the governments of the member states, with each having a veto; but one of those "minor" concessions made by Major was to grant the EU Parliament not only the right to be consulted on, but the power to veto, the appointments proposed by the governments.

Peter van Leeuwen said...

Today (27-6-2014) both Putin and Cameron receive a personal blow with a similar message:
“blackmailing tactics tend to backfire.”:

* 26 democratically elected heads of government, all standing against Cameron.

* Putin lost out to a Ukrainian president who was overwhelmingly elected recently on a pro-European manifest.

For those Putin appeasers among the anti-EU activists, they are advised to hear Petro Poroshenko's speech today in its entirety, and ask themselves: is this man a puppet in an EU expansionist scheme, or is he claiming Ukraine's European right as provided in the Maastricht Treaty, (currently TEU article 49, just before the so much loved article 50).

Peter van Leeuwen said...

Could the title also be:
What do Klaus, Orban and Cameron have in common?

Jesper said...

The guilt by association....

On one hand we have the elected leader of a country that did(?) meet the Copenhagen criteria before joining the EU, on the other hand we have the man who made a fortune in the most corrupt country in Europe?

And Poroshenko is seen as the good guy? It would seem that anyone who supports the current setup of the EU is a good guy according to the federalists.

Guillaume said...

@Jesper: Sorry but you have a problem if you consider Juncker an extremist.
He is a rater boring centrist, and that's why he got 26 or 28 votes. The extremists on the issue are Cameron and Orban...

Anonymous said...

It wouldn't be the first time that Britain has stood alone in Europe. It was right then and is right now. Perhaps Germany will get its "European Land Empire" after all. This power grab and the insulting arrogance of the popular German press will greatly increase the chances of Britain leaving the EU …..well done Bild.

Jesper said...

@Guillaume,

Juncker is for rather extreme centralisation, you don't see it. Nor do you see the extreme insider that he is.

The result of the election: Loss of seats? Ignored. Who gained? Ignored.
More of the same as before is to be expected. Yep, he does seem quite boring, changing ways and caring about the result of the election would be something new and exciting.

Anonymous said...

Juncker is a federalist who wants a United States of Europe - no matter what the people and voters i the EU. Juncker may not be an extremist but he has admitted himself that he is prepared to lie to get what he wants. Is that the sort of elitist politician you want to run the EU?