There is something surreal – no, really quite barmy – about the European debate in Britain. Five years after the crash, the economy is still flat on its back. Repair of the nation’s finances has stalled. The health of the neighbouring eurozone is far from assured and its future shape is unclear. David Cameron’s response? To promise a vote (though not for another five years or so) on British membership of the EU.
The rest of the world looks on in profound bafflement. The US has felt moved to warn the prime minister that if he takes Britain out of the EU he will wave goodbye to influence in Washington. In Beijing this week, I heard Chinese officials express polite bemusement that Britain could detach itself from the world’s most important economic bloc.
Mr Cameron’s much-hyped speech on the subject will settle nothing. It represents an expression of impotence – a cry of pain almost – rather than a strategy. Mr Cameron wants a “new settlement” so Britain can repatriate powers from Brussels but keep privileged access to the single market. He promises a renegotiation and a referendum to ratify it if he wins the 2015 election.