In a cynical manoeuvre, the Tories in the European Parliament are set to collapse their right-wing grouping before it falls apart. They then intend to present this as a sign of “maturity in government” and as a signal to their new coalition allies, the Liberal Democrats, that they “can do compromise”.
The Conservatives have spent an inordinate amount of political capital since David Cameron took over the party leadership in establishing a new right-wing group in the European Parliament called the European Conservatives and Reformists. But, as a leader of one of their strategic allies in the European Parliament, the Czech Civil Democrats, has pointed out, they have failed to create a sustainable grouping that can have any influence in Europe. Further, Miroslav Ouzk has described the Tories as “untrustworthy partners” who are now prepared to sabotage the group in pursuit of their own interests.
The Tories incurred the wrath of influential centre-right leaders such as Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy when they left the main centre-right grouping, the European People’s Party. But that was when they were in opposition and Mr Cameron was trying to placate his party’s Eurosceptic right-wing and also fend off an electoral challenge from the UK Independence Party.
Now he is Prime Minister, he is keen to mend the party’s fences with centre-right governments and keep the Lib Dems, his coalition partners, on board. That is why he seems ready to jump ship from the ECR and apply to rejoin the EPP. It is also why he has sounded out Chris Patten, the former Conservative Party chair and patron of the Tory Reform Group, about a big job in Brussels.
The ECR is now so fragile that it only needs two members from their 54-strong group to walk out and it will no longer be viable – it will lose all funding from the European Parliament.
Mr Ouzk admitted: “The faction is very fragile from the inside, since it only has the minimum number of required delegates, and therefore the walkout of only two members can dissolve it.” Referring to his fears of Tory duplicity, he added: “Sufficient would be that Mr Cameron stops convincing some of his unsettled individuals to stay in the ECR – which I could imagine he will do.”
