There was widespread media speculation that during her meeting today with Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would raise objections to the Conservative Party’s pledge to repatriate key powers from the European Union to the United Kingdom. Labour, trailing the Conservatives in the polls by double digits, are no doubt rubbing their hands together in glee that their left-wing media allies have dealt a blow to the Tories electoral hopes by labeling them as politically extreme.
This is precisely why Hillary should not get involved; she is an experienced enough political operator to smell a political rat when it’s in her kitchen. The ‘furor’ at Foggy Bottom over Lisbon is undoubtedly driven by the Labour Government, in conjunction with EU elites, determined to kill any future referendum on Lisbon. Having bullied Ireland into a Yes vote, Brown et al. are on nothing less than a holy crusade to close the wound of Lisbon which has scarred Europe for the past few years.
More importantly, the United States should not be concerning itself with Britain’s constitutional arrangements. As America’s closest international partner and a fully-functioning democracy, Britain has the political maturity to determine its own destiny. Secretary Clinton has no reason to break faith with the British people who are quite capable of making their own decisions on matters of sovereignty and self-determination. And she should read the polls: three quarters of British people want a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, fulfilling the broken manifesto pledge by Labour.
Lastly, Secretary Clinton is making a rod for her own back. In less than a year, it is almost certain that she will be dealing with a Conservative Government which is committed to renegotiating Britain’s relationship with the EU. She should not want to start off on the wrong foot.
Besides which it remains entirely unclear why she thinks it will be easier dealing with Brussels than dealing with London. It isn’t José Manuel Barroso who will send troops to send to Afghanistan. It isn’t Javier Solana who will join America in sanctioning Iran. And it certainly isn’t Benita Ferrero-Waldner who will take in prisoners from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo. With the Lisbon Treaty in force, the EU will undoubtedly interject itself into the national decision-making of EU members on issues of defense and security, but Washington should be ready to see its life get a whole lot worse in that instance.
