ShareThis'Fog in channel, Continent cut off,' is a very old British joke about an alleged newspaper headline regarding weather over the waterway separating England from Europe. Even a brief visit to the British Isles can readily confirm, sometimes in startling manner, the sense of distance from the European continent among the population.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has now reconfirmed this perception informs the nation's policies by dramatically vetoing a proposed solution to the European Union financial crisis. The accord, constructed with great effort by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, would have imposed fiscal limits on all member nations.
Cameron's move reflects pressures within his own party and complicates his wider coalition government. The Liberal Democrats, vital partners with Cameron's Conservatives, have always strongly supported the Brussels-based European Union, providing a distinctive role in British politics.
The prime minister's actions have strained the coalition. Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was notably absent from Parliament when the veto of the EU initiative was debated. Nonetheless, the coalition likely will survive, mainly because the Liberal Democrats have no viable alternative.
In recent years, the Conservative Party, which led British entry into the European community, has become notably more hostile to the organization. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a famous Euro skeptic, and battled ferociously -- and generally successfully -- for concessions from the other members. The 1997 general election brought into Parliament a younger generation of Conservative politicians who strongly reflect her views.
In 2005, Britain also led the way in vetoing a proposed comprehensive European Constitution because Prime Minister Tony Blair and others feared that implementation would lead to termination of aid from Brussels.
Additionally, European backers of integration had grown more ambitious, alienating Britain and others with visions of expanding EU authority at the expense of national sovereignty.
Britain stayed out when the original European community was founded in the mid-1950s.
France, one of six founding members, nonetheless became committed to defense of national sovereignty, led by President Charles de Gaulle, the national hero of World War II. On two occasions in the 1960s, he vetoed Britain's entry, greatly reinforcing the sense of the English Channel as a great gulf.
British resistance to institutional engagement in Europe is deeply rooted historically, traceable at least to the 16th century. According to one story, King Henry VIII had a portrait of himself painted in which he held in one hand a pair of scales, labeled Austria and France.
In his other hand, he held a weight capable of tipping the balance in favor of one state or the other. This image is a useful symbol for British policies toward the continent in the centuries that have followed. Britain proved crucial in defeating Napoleon and then Hitler.
Wider context is also useful to analysis. Merkel has done an exceptional job of mobilizing vital political as well as economic resources to address Europe's debt problems. Engaging Germany constructively in Europe was a principal goal of unifying the region in the wake of the total destruction and horrors of World War II.
A regional solution that leaves the euro intact is desirable but not essential. Today only 17 of 27 EU members use the euro.
Crucial is availability of capital for lending. That depends on developments in Brazil, China, Korea, the United States and elsewhere as well as Europe.
Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College. E-mail him at acyr(at)carthage.edu
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