Hässliche Isolation - Ugly Isolation
British Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, is demanding that the European Union changes. Now he is right about that, although he means something very different. The EU must change but in order to do so it will be necessary for the British Chancellor to leave the room. The internal political weakness of the government of Prime Minister David Cameron is only surpassed by their chutzpah in European affairs. For months, the United Kingdom has been blocking everything in Brussels that it possibly can.
The Government in London has significant problems with Tory MPs who have apparently adopted the Republican Tea Party movement in America as their model. They want to leave the EU: Cameron dares not strongly oppose them.
In the end, the noises against Europe were becoming more and more unpleasant - until two days ago. First of all, British businessses warned of the economic damage that an exit from the EU could cause. Then the American government piped up. They didn't consider a 'Brexit' to be a good idea and said so loud and clear.
The Chancellor is now engaged in damage limitation. He has told the EU that non-Euro countries must be allowed to keep the same rights as countries that use the Euro currency.
The message from London is - we may not be on the inside, but we still want a say in everything.
So US President Barack Obama's administration came out and warned the British against leaving the EU, but where is the clear European reaction to George Osborne?
It would have been nice if European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso or European Council President Herman Van Rompuy had shown similar guts and finally told the Brits what might be gained from their obstruction: absolutely nothing.
If Great Britain doesn't like the path that the EU has taken, then they haven't understood the European concept. No-one in the Eurozone is happy about giving money to Greece - but it is a question of keeping the Eurozone together.
The British will have to learn that their Empire is in the past and that 'Rule Britannia' is just a song.
Whether a weak politician like Cameron is up to that job is doubtful. However, it is possible that Scotland will soon split from the UK. This part of the Island is definitely happy in the EU.....
