21 november 2009, what to say of ashton & humpty rumpty

Saturday 21st November 2009

Like the removal of a champagne cork from a bottle, there has been a flood of commentary on our two new eu supremos, the consensus being its rather flat and non-vintage champagne; more bubbly whine really. I thought michael white got it about right when he said that he too sometimes feels like putting his feet up and so why “after a turbulent 500 centuries of global dominance and two world wars” shouldn’t the eu. Someone else said that it was like the leaders looked at the posts they had created, and stepped back. However, the bottom line is more prosaic, and it is that no decision on the president was going to be made without merkel, and merkel is first and foremost a european christian democrat – hence her fury at cameron’s leaving her own centre right eu grouping (the epp) just as it was on the cusp of dominance. The right won the european elections, and so deserves to form the “government”, be that in the form of barroso, commission president, or the new president. The left was always then going to get the foreign post, and the uk had the right assets to put forward a candidate. Had the left won in june, I think blair would have got it. People don’t easily see that as democracy – but who will be pm if the conservatives win the next election ? They won’t look much further than the party’s own leader. Meanwhile, let’s hope the new team is competent and can fit in well with the rest of the team. Oh, and ashton’s from greater manchester !