THE
MINUTEMAN SQUABBLE
Obviously
when good men see a cause that threatens their independence, nay
their very way of life, they stand shoulder to shoulder to stop
the coming onslaught. You believed that? What were you
doing in history class? The fact is that like all good and noble
causes the Eurosceptics are squabbling like little children, which
is the best way. Most British people are not settled in their
Euroscepticism. Some people just oppose further federating moves
such as the Single Currency. Other British people dislike what
Europe has done to their livelihood
or hobby. Yet more want Britain to grab
back powers that they have already given, and some (like myself)
see that there is no way out of European federalism, except for
withdrawal from the European Union. There are so many groups that
there is even dispute as to who the coordinating body is, is it
the Congress for Democracy or the Anti-Maastricht
alliance. The fact is that the sheer numbers of Eurosceptic
groups means that there is something for almost anybody, left,
right or center; tepid sceptic to outright unilateralist. Moreover,
if you find no group that suits your taste, you can form a new
one. It is politics for the Internet generation.
THE
MAINFRAME GENERATION
Now
I must turn to the belly of the beast. I really do not want to
but I must let you see the opposition. Unlike the vibrant and
bewildering variety of the Eurosceptics, the pro-Europeans present
a united, disciplined and lifeless front. The European Movement (EM), a group actually
funded by the European Union, is the heart of the Euroctopus and
nothing moves without its permission. The sad spectacle of the
Pro-Euro Conservative
Party, which attempted to destabilise the moderately Eurosceptic
leadership of the Conservative Party, is a case in point. It was
totally staffed and mainly funded by the European Movement. It
went down to humiliating defeat in the European elections, failing
to gain any seats and seeing the real Conservative Party go to
its first nationwide victory in seven years. There has been a
similar disaster with the launch of its cross party organization
Britain in Europe,
which, due to the electoral prerogatives of Tony Blair had to
change its stance from being pro-Euro to being pro-EU. The fact
is that the pro-Europeans are too closely connected to one another
and too dependent on government and EU money to be able to win
an election on their own. They will need a very uneven playing
field to win.
VAGUE
HOPES
Any
success for the Eurosceptic cause is going to hinge on the position
of the Conservative
Party. Many Eurosceptics hate this, as like the Republicans
the Conservatives are a party obsessed by power with a passing
interest in principles. But in the end the Conservatives have
the organization, the "brand loyalty" of voters and
a set of rather good and ruthless politicians. In any coming referendum
the reach of the Conservative Party will be vital for any "No"
vote. And luckily things have drastically improved in the recent
past. The previous leader of the party, John
Major, was convinced of the inevitability of further EU integration,
although worried about the effect that public admission of this
would have on his fractured party. He was responsible for Britain
signing the federating Maastricht treaty.
His successor William
Hague is altogether more
sceptic on the European question, who has skillfully marginalised
the Federalist rump within the party. He has always condemned
calls for withdrawal as "extreme", but unlike Mr. Blair
or Mr. Major he refuses to doubt the sanity of the withdrawers,
possibly bringing to mind Barry Goldwaters dictum "extremism
in the cause of liberty is no vice." It will be of crucial
importance where the Conservative Party falls in a referendum
on membership of the EU, and unfortunately there is a long way
to go before the Conservatives can feel confident of withdrawal,
although they seem willing to toy with something close to it.
But the membership is more
Eurosceptic than the leadership and they are starting to flex
their muscles so perhaps there is a glimmer of hope.
THE
WILDERNESS WARRIORS
The
brightest star in the Eurosceptic firmament is the United Kingdom Independence Party.
Although they call themselves a party and stand for election they
are in reality a single-issue pressure group. Their aim is to
make withdrawal from the European Union a respectable cause. With
three
Members of the European Parliament from the last election
they are starting to have a healthily bracing effect on official
conservative policy. Although going through a bitter feud at the moment they
are definitely the party to watch.
MODERATE
VIRTUES
The
crushing advantage of the Eurosceptic movement is the ability
to set up backbiting and jealous grouplets who can occupy tiny
territories in the public debate. A territory that needs to be
occupied are the genuinely undecided, who are pro-EU but unsure
about further federation, at least for now. New Europe founded by Lord
Owen (joint author of the failed Vance-Owen plan) appeals to these
undecided types. Its argument is that we must stay within the
EU, but further federating moves such as Economic and Monetary
Union (EMU), should be dealt with cautiously. It has a number
of retired politicians who have harmed their career through support
of the EU, David Owen left the Labour Party for example because
of its commitment to withdraw from the EU during the partys
quasi-Marxist stage in the 1980s. The message is clear, it is
perfectly possible to be wary of a single currency and be neither
a Tory nor a withdrawer. New Europeans sister organization,
Business for Sterling, aims
for a similar constituency, those who want to keep the pound,
but who are worried about the consequences. It also fulfills the
useful function of being a group of fairly senior big businessmen,
who are against the Euro, one of the myths of the EU is that big business always wants greater integration,
not always it seems.
SPOILT
FOR CHOICE
The
range of the change to EU life is staggering, not just involving
surrendering economic policy to a foreign central bank,
it affects the law,
the armed
forces and the very political
culture of Britain itself. The fact is that no one group can
agree on what is the most important issue, what is the appropriate
response to the EU and which are the important constituencies
to organize. There are consequently a wide variety of pressure
groups; this will give you some idea:
There
are many more groups,
which I cannot really do justice to here, but the pro-independence
movement is far more vibrant than its opponents, even if bewilderingly
so.
BEWARE
OF THE SMEARS
The
Nazi
antecedents of European Federalism are fairly well established;
the first prominent British political leader to call for European
Federalism was Sir Oswald
Moseley, the fascist leader. This does not stop the intellectual heirs of
Hitler and Mussolini attempting to smear the present Eurosceptic
movement. The pro-Europeans will try to find racist links, and
racists will try to infiltrate the Eurosceptic movement, but they
will be living a lie. One of the few things that can be predicted
with any certainty over the next few years is that the fascist
smear will be used. Do not believe it when you hear it.
WHY
EUROPE MATTERS
The
European Union matters for a number of reasons. One is that its
increasing ambitions are going to lead to American involvement
in more Kosovos than
you ever fought possible. Another problem is that it is in its
basic form highly critical of "Anglo-Saxon" norms, and
so while begging with one hand may be beating America with the
other. But the most important point is that it gives hope to Internationalists
everywhere. One of our most potent arguments is that "Internationalism
has never worked when its been tried". Europe will
work, but very badly. It is imperative that all Americans who
oppose needless international involvement know just how bad Europe
works, and how tyrannical it is becoming. Remember it will be
the model for America when your time comes.