You are in:
- Archives » 2007 » September 2007
Who Do You Think You Are Kidding?
The Sun waited until Britain developed a serious case of election fever before wheeling out its attack on the EU Constitution, which it says that PM Gordon Brown will sign within weeks.
Describing it as Britain's "greatest threat as an independent sovereign state since the dark days of World War II", the Sun says signing the treaty will consign Britain to "a bit part in a 27-nation federal state permanently governed from Brussels by unelected officials and unaccountable politicians."
And it isn't already?
"Centuries of parliamentary democracy will be consigned to history", the Sun continues,
"And, disgracefully, that irreversible decision will be made by a tame Parliament utterly out of tune with its voters."
There is some good stuff in the Sun's leader: Making clear that both Tory and Labour governments have conspired to erode Westminister's power is one, the list of quotes from senior Eurocrats and leaders pointing out how the Reform Treaty is not significantly different from the rejected Constitution is another. The newspaper is also right, though a wee bit late after the blogs already covered it, to say that Britain's "red lines" probably won't last their first run-in with the European Court .
It's vintage Eurosceptic stuff from the paper that gave us "Up Yours, Delors."
However, the timing is interesting. Labour's annual conference begins this week, and despite "just about everybody outside (Brown's) cabinet" wanting a referendum on the treaty, Europe is unlikely to figure in any major discussion or speech. Brown wants to brush the issue of the Constitution under the carpet; terrified of being labelled "obsessed" by the EU, the Tories are holding the rug to help him.
The Sun has given Brown a relatively easy ride so far (it was a strong backer of his predecessor, Tony Blair). Is the campaign a signal that the honeymoon is over?
As "election fever" heats up further still, the European issue is likely to buried under a pile of newsprint and web pages dedicated to other issues. The public repeatedly stresses its strong feelings about the EU in poll after poll, but Eurosceptics have lacked a "champion" capable of making it a major issue. Is it because voters see both parties as equally complicit in the EU Project? Or do they simply like to have a good old moan about Europe and the EU, but when push comes to shove won't vote for anyone who will change the status quo?
The timing of the Sun's campaign is interesting. It's still Britain's best-selling newspaper and is assiduously courted by Labour (and to a lesser extent, these days, the Tories). But it's a stretch to say that the rag, which once claimed "it's the Sun wot won it" after Neil Kinnock's 1992 election defeat, could swing an election 15 years later. Maybe the newspaper's proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, still thinks it can?
Perhaps, following The Telegraph's publication of the "Left List", which claims to number Britain's most influential lefties, has Murdoch concerned that a "Right List" is due to follow, and that he should still top it?
