It's late so this will have to be short and sweet.
I refer of course to the European Constitution and my title should have Monty Python's parrot sketch whirring through your brain as you read. That's right the constitution is not quite dead and even if it is they'll just nail it back up and hope no-one notices. They will behave like my youngest, Jasper (6), when he claims that he "wasn't ready" or "wasn't looking" or what ever it takes to wipe the score and start again.
You see the current clutch of European leaders are simply too committed to their European project to back away now. We have seen it before - countries (like Ireland) vote against some part of it and they are sent back to try again. They are clearly determined to press ahead with their desire for a federal European state before they are swept from power and no ill tempered referendums are going to stop them. Ironically of course it is precisely this blind rush to the federal goal that will speed up their demise, but like all those who cling to power, they are incapable of rational thought. Europe is now considerably more volatile for these referendum results, not less.
Which leads me neatly to a related issue - the Conservative leadership. You see many have claimed that if France and The Netherlands voted against the constitution, that would bury the Europe issue and a certain Mr Ken Clarke would then be clear to stand for the leadership and his position on Europe wouldn't matter. Well this has been flawed from the start and as matters are proving, they were just wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong again. Europe is well and truly back on the agenda and more dangerous than ever.
The Tories would sink without trace with Clarke as leader even in the most benign of circumstances, but now......well, how do you beat sinking without trace!
p.s. Please, please, please don't stand, Mr Rifkind / Yeo. You are part of the bad old days, not the bright future.
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