THE EU
The Strange Death of Tory Euroskepticism
When David Cameron was leader of the opposition it was the widely accepted wisdom that he would, if he became Britain's prime minister, have the most terrible difficulties with the European Union.
His party, it was said, would be almost unmanageable on the issue. Remember that he encountered all manner of problems when he helped establish a new center-right grouping in the European parliament, breaking away from the EPP. Surely that was just a taster before the main course in government?
Relations with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France were likely be fraught, as the Conservatives forced their leader to block initiatives coming from Brussels. Britain led by Mr. Cameron would be on a collision course with its neighbors. The resulting impact might destroy Mr. Cameron's carefully calibrated attempts to present himself as centrist, moderate and reasonable.
Absolutely none of this has happened. Why?
Almost unnoticed, his MPs have voted for a list of measures that would a few years ago have triggered full-scale Tory war. There was the expansion of justice and home affairs powers, involving the extension of the so-called European arrest warrant. The European External Action Service—or EU diplomatic service—was nodded through. New regulations for the City of London require the establishment of three pan-European supervisory bodies. This was accepted by the Treasury and if there were protests from the Conservative benches they didn't make much noise. A higher budget for the EU has also been approved.
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