THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: Instead of putting Britain first, the prime minister prioritised the Conservative party
To stand alone against the world can sometimes be an act of heroic defiance. At other times, however, it can merely be proof of tragic foolishness. David Cameron spent much of yesterday basking in the approval of the previously hostile rightwing press and his party's Eurosceptics after he vetoed an EU-wide treaty to rescue the single currency. But the prime minister's action in Brussels marks a moment of profound and long-gestating British failure. Mr Cameron has left an empty chair that could define Britain's place in the world for years to come.
None of this is to pretend that Mr Cameron missed the chance to get aboard a voyage to the stars this week. For Europe as a whole, the latest Brussels summit marked a moment when the partners finally recognised one of the things they failed to see at Maastricht 20 years ago, that monetary union requires constraints of fiscal co-ordination that some nations might not welcome. That recognition is still too little and too late, and has been reached in the most adverse of circumstances. It comes at a moment of extreme inequality between the eurozone members of the north and the south, while the actions now foisted on the eurozone 17 by Germany and France are insufficient and too cautious to stop the bond markets – as initial market reaction yesterday seemed to indicate. There is no guarantee that the plans which Mr Cameron vetoed for the Europe of 27 will work for the Europe of 17 either. Read on and comment » | Editorial | Friday, December 09, 2011
