Could Vaclav Klaus ensure that Britain gets its chance to reject Lisbon under a Cameron Government?

Back in June in a CentreRight post, Daniel Kawczynski MP explained how he had written to the Polish President (in Polish), urging him to withhold his signature from the Lisbon Treaty in order to allow the British people time to elect a Conservative Government which would gve us the referendum on the treaty which Gordon Brown has refused to hold (despite Labour's manifesto commitment).

Today, the Daily Mail reports that David Cameron has made similar overtures to the Czech President, Vaclav Klaus:

"The Tory leader sent a letter to Czech president Vaclav Klaus, reassuring Mr Klaus that if he held up the EU's Lisbon deal, Mr Cameron would stage a referendum in Britain if he wins power. Mr Klaus has now indicated he is planning to delay signing the treaty for up to six months... The Czechs represent the last real hurdle to the blueprint if, as expected, the Irish vote 'yes' in a referendum next month.

"Tory sources said Mr Cameron told Mr Klaus he would hold an early poll if the deal had not been approved by the time he hopes to win power in May, and said he would 'be right there with him' to campaign against it. A Tory source said: 'Cameron has told Klaus that if he can hold out for a few months, he'll be right there with him'."

The paper reports a source close to the Tory leader as confirming that a letter was sent last month, but that it did not "explicitly" urge President Klaus to hold up the treaty.

Explicit or otherwise, if the letter has the desired effect, there's no denying that President Klaus would deserve hero status.

Jonathan Isaby