Sunday, January 08, 2012

The theatre continues


The inability of the MSM correctly to report on European Union affairs is manifest in an article today in the Sunday Express (pictured above) which has europhile analyst Peter Ludlow warning that:
If Cameron is stupid enough to try and block the use of the institutions it would be a very, very dramatic development which could only have grave consequences in terms of Britain's own interests.
Even though Ludlow then goes on to record that "all the messages" he is getting are that Cameron will not do this, this does not stop the newspaper delivering its thoroughly misleading headline. This refers not just to blocking the use of EU institutions, but to the treaty as a whole. We know he cannot do that.

Of greater interest though is Ludlow questioning the description of Cameron's "veto". He says: "He didn't veto, the negotiations were terminated by his partners who could see he had no negotiating position".

This is about right, but it glides past the Express reporter, with the observation tacked on to the end of the piece – even though it makes a nonsense of the whole article.

It also makes a complete nonsense of Farage's most recent comments. Rather bizarrely, he tells us:
Cameron may have used the veto once, but he is going to have to use it again and again and again … 2012 is gonna be the year when we see that actually the veto, fun though it was, isn't really worth a row of beans.
This is playing into the hands of the Cameron. It promotes the idea that he is committed to fighting a long-running battle against the "colleagues", reinforcing the "battling for Britain" meme, as he seeks platforms for talking tough.

In the meantime, we are getting the same vibes as Ludlow. The Cameron spat is carefully crafted theatre. There is going to be no serious opposition to the Merkozy initiative. But then, theatre rather than reality is the fare of the media and politicians. There is a lot more to come.

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