What are Britain, France and Italy to do about Germany?

Under the guise of a review of two books on Germany, the Charlemagne column in tomorrow's Economist Magazine raises the reality of German power in today's EU. Read here.

On the week of the funeral of Margaret Thatcher, this seems most appropriate. Norman Tebbit, one of her closest ministerial colleagues, finely tuned in to her beliefs, in his comment last weekend for the Mail, blamed those in her Party who had her removed as working for Brussels, many suspect that is in fact merely code for German influence and objectives.

The 26 other countries of the EU will eventually have to decide their own attitudes to German control of their former nations, many European citizens whose forebears fought and emigrated to avoid such a fate, are likely to be unhappy at that prospect.

The leaders of the larger non-German EU ex-nations have a formidable problem to face, Italy actually physically lacks a leader as well as the character attributes one associates with such a position, as seems to be the case for both Britain and France. Nevertheless something has to be faced, we cannot go on much longer with children being allowed to starve in Greece, as was reported in the New York Times yesterday!

Europe's fissure along the Rhine is re-appearing

The Charlemagne columnist in The Economist this morning takes up my theme of the failing Elysée Treaty, linked here, although of course, not yet my call for its early demise, although the article comes surprisingly close by quoting General de Gaulle, its French signatory as once saying "treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last." 

I watched a military train pass through Angoulême station on Wednesday of this week, with huge guns, armoured vehicles and tanks, all no doubt headed towards Africa, and it brought home to me that France is once again at war. A point hammered home from a link on Twitter leading here; bringing sharply home the reality of France's nuclear dependency.

Such nuclear electricity independence sets France apart from Germany which looks East to Russia for energy security with presumably fond glances towards Poland's coal resources. Britain on the other hand is concerned with the oil exports from the neighbouring giant country of Nigeria in assessing its reaction to events in Algeria, Mali and Niger.

Plus ça change, plus la même chose. I guess!

Britain and Europe

Ten years ago during the Christmas holiday period I joined a debate on the discussion forums run by the Financial Times newspaper on Britishness as opposed to Europeanism, in which I made much of Winston Churchill's rejection of Britain joining the nascent Common Market.  The  quote upon which I placed particular emphasis came from the Cabinet Papers of 29th November 1951 in which he stated that Britain should not become an "integral part of European integration" as it would "forfeit our insular or commonwealth wide character".

Here is a follow up posting from boxing day 2002, which develops some of the ideas I linked to and discussed from my posting to this blog of yesterday morning.

Consider the future of a new born British baby!

Ponder on the innocence of a new born baby, reflect on the pride, aspirations and hopes of its parents!

Now if you can for a moment, turn your thoughts to the qualities of those who have attained the upper echelons of our society: our leading politicians, senior civil servants , the DG, management and senior producers and celeberity broadcasters of the state run, hugely expensive and completely biased and unreasoning BBC etc.

Would any such parents wish their new born infant to follow in the footsteps of the present incumbents of those offices, most of them, (almost without obvious exception,) vain, greedy, self-seeking, self absorbed and commonly utterly incompetent as the state of society so obviously bears witness.

Such are the depths of the problem facing our country, all completely and entirely of our own making

Britain and Europe

   I have been writing about Europe almost every day for a long time, almost as long as successive British Governments and Conservative Party politicians in particular have been doing all they could to not even think about it.  Even PM Cameron, with his well aimed attack of yesterday, as reported in The Sun, linked here, now seems aware that this feigned indifference cannot continue!

   The boycott of the Fiscal Compact contrived by Cameron at the final EU summit of last year, appears to have served little purpose, with an FTT or Tobin Tax proceeding under enhanced cooperation.

   The next logical British step,  a boycott of the single banking supervisor procedures agreed this week could not be justified given the UK has no eventual commitment to ever join EMU. The Czech threat of a veto is encouraging but the pressure to again fall into line will probably eventually prove irresistable.

   The solution clutched at by Cameron in yesterday's Brussels news conference, a new EU settlement followed by referendum acceptance or continuation of the pre-existing status quo, carries absurdity and expediency to new and ever more dizzying heights.

  What then to do? As I blogged first thing this morning, the economy has already broken down, appointment of a capable, experienced and functioning Governor of the Bank of England is thus priority number one, as then posted I believe Nigel Lawson fits the bill.

Next to go, quite clearly, is the Chancellor, George Osborne. Nick Clegg if he wishes his party to be saved from annihalation must now make this a condition of his continuing support for the Coalition .

   A British Foreign Policy towards a splitting EU must then urgently be prepared. A senior Liberal Democrat could concurrently be given responsibilty to assist in preventing such a breakdown occurring and negotiating a new place for the UK within, or among, the remanants of the failed EU!

   Saving what remains of sterling's value from the fallout from the euro disaster needs a seasoned and smart individual heading the Treasury, regular readers of my blog know well enough whom I prefer amongst the very few such that the nation presently seems to have available.

   Meantime watch the results of tomorrow's local elections in Spain as the best guide as to how much more time we may still have available to prepare.

   For a good report on the crumbling societies in Greece and Portugal watch Dateline London from the BBC this weekend!