How I miss the pleasures of having small children around at Christmas – the squabbling and bickering, one taunting the other, the other making rude gestures…
So in the absence of small children I have taken to watching the news instead, to see the latest instalment in the childish behaviour of French and British politicians. Far more entertaining than anything my own children used to get up to!
Frankly they all need a good telling off and a warning that they should play nicely or they will have to leave the room – on both sides of the channel. We could argue all day about ‘who started it’ but I like to think that our glorious leaders can rise above such things and kiss and make up.
Note: it was probably George Osborne in November who set the ball rolling when he compared the problems in France to those in Greece, but curiously that was much less widely reported in the UK press than when the French criticised the Brits this week (here).
The French meanwhile might like to ask their over enthusiastic politicians to show a bit of goodwill to all men at Christmas rather than pointing their fingers accusingly at the Brits.
It’s like watching my two ‘naughty children’ arguing over whose behaviour is worst without remembering that they both enjoy themselves more when they are playing together nicely – something which my children would have grasped even when they were small enough to run around poking their tongues out at each other!
The newspapers don’t help much either. I’m all for a free press but it is ‘inappropriate’ for newspapers like the Daily Mail and the Telegraph to take such pleasure in running anti-French stories that are either completely made up or written just to stir up anti-Europe (anti French) fervour.
Example? The story about the ‘snub’ to Cameron by Sarkozy not shaking hands with him last week. They had just shaken hands minutes earlier and anyone who has ever been to France knows that you shake hands when you first meet someone in the day, not every time you pass them after that, yet both these newspapers ran it as a big story about Britain being insulted. Errr, no it wasn’t (here).
I wouldn’t mind, but Britain is likely to have a referendum on Europe sooner or later, so it would be useful if the choice was made based on facts rather than nonsense that has been invented by the newspapers!
Speaking of which, I just read that Lord Oakeshott, a Lib-Dem peer, said ‘Cameron lost an awful lot of credibility by linking up with the wackos in eastern Europe‘, apparently ‘wackos’ referring to the Czechs and Hungarians (here).
A story that wasn’t widely reported – but when the Czechs and Hungarians say something rude about Britain in return I’m guessing that will make headline news in ‘outraged’ UK newspapers.
It all reminds me of the pleasures of going to Christmas pantos when I was a child myself, and shouting “he’s behind you” – which also always fell on deaf ears!
The route of the problem is that most of the English do not want to be in the EU as it is. It is being run by the French and Germans for the French and Germans. They broke their own rules to form the Euro. We do not like the leaders with all the power being unelected. As soon as anyone speakes their mind the Frensh get all vindictive.
The Euro is killing the small countries and it needs to fail for Europe to start to recover.Ah but you are not allowed to say that.
I completely agree and I think most people in Europe, Britain and elsewhere would agree – except perhaps those politicians who think they will lose their jobs when it happens.
I suspect that each country in Europe being once again able to manage its own currency and finances would very much improve efficiency and competition between countries and generally make the world a better place – although German products might be rather expensive at first as their currency booms!
Perhaps it won’t be too long until it collapses – I doubt if the proposed treaty for central budget control and ‘approval’ in Europe will ever be implemented, even less enforced, and without it the euro is probably doomed.
But how long do you think is left for the euro? Six months? A year? Or do you think it will stagger on for years?
The politicians pushed the Euro when we all knew the rules would not be adhered to and sooner or later it will end in tears. They also gave us The Answer To Global Warming which is also based on ‘expert’ but questionable data. Millions are being wasted on this scam. No wonder that those paying taxes are being squeezed so hard. 19.5%/ 20% or whatever on TVA/ VAT – we are all tax payers.
Events shape the world not politicians.I think the Euro could fail any time. It was when Britain was left alone to stem the run on the pound that finished me with the whole EU project. We were in the ERM and both France and Germany should have stood by us to stem the tide, but of course they did not, so I knew then as it is now that when the going gets tough its everyone for themselves. So Germany and France failed the test.
If the EU was far more democratic it might stand a chance, but as it is more like a dictatorship it must fail in the end.If you want to hear the truth follow Dan Hannan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbxGYKE_wo&feature=g-u&context=G22f1bacFUAAAAAAAAAA
Saddest part of it is, despite what they say neither Europe or the UK or US have even started to ‘really’ tackle the debt crisis (except perhaps countries like Greece that have been forced to, which promptly led to riots) – for example the UK is to borrow an EXTRA 120 billion this year if I remember correctly, so an extra 5000 for every family in Britain. Not quite what I would call reducing your debts and I guess similar figures apply for countries in Europe.
I don’t think ‘growth’ is going to get any of us out of recession any day soon so the political arguing will really start when they all accept they have to give big pay cuts to civil servants, reduce spending on health, education, defence etc or perhaps increase taxes and raise VAT to 35%!.
Problem for Europe is that while Britain and America can just print more money to pay their debts (albeit with a price to pay later in terms of inflation or weaker currency), that isn’t possible in Europe. Britain call it ‘quantitative easing‘ (about 300 billion so far) because saying they are ‘printing money’ makes people nervous, but as far as I can tell it amounts to the same thing.
I agree with you Boris. The poiticians have not the guts to do what needs to happen, thats why the markets will do it for them.I also think Lesley is spot on.
If they made it easier for people to start up businesses their economies might not be in this mess in the first place.
…and if they stopped big companies avoiding tax by using offshore investments and holding companies to hide profits that would also be welcome.
ps to compare the financial situations of France and the UK so we can all guess who will lose their AAA ratings first see this table (in French)
Very sensible article Boris!
Another Boris wrote a sensible article in the Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/8964824/EU-crisis-The-Frogs-do-love-us-theyre-just-hopping-mad-with-Germany.html
Quite unexpected but reassuring.
Still, I can’t help being astonished by the violence of the anti-French sentiment some people have in the UK.
In the comments to Boris Johnson’s article, someone said that he refused the idea that the French could like the English and that he would consider himself a traitor to his country if a Frenchman ever expressed positive feelings towards him.
This clearly confines to a mental pathology.
I’ve read a great many more highly insulting and offensive comments, full of sheer hatred and contempt. In this respect, expiation of June 1940 seems to be never ending.
Although teasing is and has been part of the game, it is beyond my understanding how such extreme feelings of hate can exist in a developed and educated country today.
I’m quite happy I’ve never met anyone like this in real life !
What scares me the most is that nobody seems to find it shocking enough to talk about in the media for example.