whether the PMs negotiations with Europe are backfiring,it’s because his own ministers are undermining themThe idea of the European Union is under threat as never before, as Marine Le Pen’s anti-EU campaign powers on, and Hungary challenges first principles and Britain lurches nearer the exit. What ample timing for the Victoria and Albert Museum this week to open its redesigned European galleries,a strong reminder of our common history, told in artefacts. See how cultural influences from Italy and France ricochet across the continent; how trade spreads not just design and technology but ideas, or as the Enlightenment breezes across borders. We have a shared inheritance. Whatever they say,they can’t assume that absent from us,” says Martin Roth, or the museum’s German director.
Querulous British negotiations inspect tawdry against that sweeping backdrop. As he celebrates 10 years as party leader,David Cameron is stepping closer to taking Britain out of the EU: will he make such a momentous move for such trivial reasons? Caught in a trap of his own devising, he has twisted together two wicked political issues – Brexit and benefits – like a pair of snakes.
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Source: theguardian.com