Nick Clegg gets tough

In the immediate aftermath of the so-called “Leaders” debate, which only served to underscore Britain’s descent into frivolity, polls showed Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg, to be the most popular leader since Winston Churchill. Pace Karl Marx, Britain’s decline over the past 75 years was first a tragedy; it’s now a farce. 

So now, Nick Clegg strides forth as the fresh faced alternative to the "old" politics. He proclaims a new direction. He declares that Britain should no longer be "joined at the hip with our American friends." The Iraq invasion "was a war about Tony Blair and Gordon Brown doing America’s bidding." So those clever neo-cons in the Bush Administration were running British foreign policy. Will Britain now build up its defence forces so that it can break free and become truly independent? Don’t ask such an inconvenient question! 

The European political class imagines that that it’s now time for Europeans to start exerting political influence. And where to start? The Middle East of course. As a proponent of the European superstate, Nick Clegg says that the EU has been an "economic giant and political pygmy in the Middle East." Now how should we show that we Europeans are big boys politically? Get tough on Iran? Don’t be silly – we’re not that rash. We’ll play with some words like, "united sanctions" against Iran. Perhaps Russia and China may be persuaded to agree to some formulaic puffery. Military action? Oh, no, it won’t work. But how would economic sanctions be expected to work? Don’t ask! 

We mustn’t let awkward questions divert us from the main game. Iran is just a sideshow. The European superstate can show its political muscle by getting tough on Israel. After all, it’s traditional for appeasers to beat up their democratic allies, as Chamberlain showed with Czechoslovakia. Israel may be the only true democracy in the Middle East, but hey, the Muslims have the numbers, and Muslim voters in Britain are changing the old political demography.    

So this new empty suit celebrity has decided that it is time to throw Israel  under the bus. 

Nick Clegg deludes himself if he thinks he has the credentials to help lead a new assertive Europe. But as Melanie Phillips has shown, neither David Cameron nor Gordon Brown are much better. The hallmark of the new Europe is appeasement and betrayal. Allies beware!