Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

David Cameron’s next big European mistake

EU summits haven't been kind to our Prime Minister. That's not about to change

[ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images] 
issue 30 August 2014

[audioplayer src=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_28_August_2014_v4.mp3″ title=”Isabel Hardman and Mats Persson discuss Cameron’s European way ” startat=830]

Listen

[/audioplayer]David Cameron loathes European Union summits, and with reason: they seldom go well for him. He has been ambushed by the French, betrayed by the Germans, seduced by the Swedes and even outsmarted by a Luxembourger — Jean-Claude Juncker, whom he tried to stop becoming President of the European Commission. He’ll meet them all again this Saturday, in Brussels, as they begin divvying up the plum jobs under Juncker’s presidency. As usual, the odds are stacked against Cameron.

By now, every EU member has nominated a commissioner to work in Brussels for the next five years. Cameron agonised over his choice and eventually sent Lord Hill, clearing another space for his cabinet ‘reshuffle for the women’. The problem is that Lord Hill is a man, and Juncker has said he’d have liked more women.

Isabel Hardman
Written by
Isabel Hardman
Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.

Topics in this article

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in