posted
May 28, 2010 by News Gatherer
All politics is local, of course, but Britain’s grouchy electorate sent a message that has echoes in the rest of Europe and even the United States: Voters aren’t looking for massive change right now; they’re looking for leaders who can find a safe way out of a deep economic crisis that never seems to end.
Does that mean Western politics is in the midst of a broad ideological swing to the right? Not really. Merkel is said to be furious at Cameron for his standoffish policies toward the European Union. Inside the EU, Merkel and Sarkozy have formed a loose alliance, but it’s pragmatic, not ideological. Most of the time, they hardly speak to each other. Europe’s successful conservative politicians — Angela Merkel of Germany, Nicolas Sarkozy of France, the dogged Berlusconi in Italy and now David Cameron in Britain — are no axis of anything. And nobody wants to be seen with Berlusconi. They don’t hold joint conferences on continent-wide economic or social policy.
Related Stories
