Where to start?
Rather a lot going on today, with an awful lot of bloggable things to boot. Anyway, my opener for the day involves a note in the Telegraph on Cameron's Czech allies:
"The centre-Right party has only nine MEPs, compared with 26 British Conservative MEPs, but the Czechs are important because theirs is the only other substantial party in the European Parliament that is pro-free trade, is Eurosceptic, and is broadly pro-American".
I would not have thought that it was such an obscure position to hold, but apparently it is on the Continent. Meanwhile, all hail the splendid Czech nation and time for a reminder of Vaclav Klaus's wise words some years ago: "The Third Way leads to the Third World". Footnote to a footnote, Prague is the only major city in central Europe to have avoided major war damage in '38-45 because it was liberated not by the Russians, not by the US/Canada/us/ etc but rather by the Czechs themselves and the Russian Liberation Army, a force levied by the Germans and commanded by Vlasov that switched sides.
Rather a lot going on today, with an awful lot of bloggable things to boot. Anyway, my opener for the day involves a note in the Telegraph on Cameron's Czech allies:
"The centre-Right party has only nine MEPs, compared with 26 British Conservative MEPs, but the Czechs are important because theirs is the only other substantial party in the European Parliament that is pro-free trade, is Eurosceptic, and is broadly pro-American".
I would not have thought that it was such an obscure position to hold, but apparently it is on the Continent. Meanwhile, all hail the splendid Czech nation and time for a reminder of Vaclav Klaus's wise words some years ago: "The Third Way leads to the Third World". Footnote to a footnote, Prague is the only major city in central Europe to have avoided major war damage in '38-45 because it was liberated not by the Russians, not by the US/Canada/us/ etc but rather by the Czechs themselves and the Russian Liberation Army, a force levied by the Germans and commanded by Vlasov that switched sides.
Labels: Eastern Europe
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on Friday, July 14, 2006 at 8:37 am.
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good news.
The mainstream media knows very little about Eastern European politics/issues... so little it is embarassing... then left wing bloggers/rags rehash things to skew reality further (See Adele Reynolds for a good example of bilge).
Unbeknown to them of the six largest parties in Slovakia the SDKU, KDH, SMK and at a stretch the HDZS could all be interested in joining a Tory-ODS grouping. I am sure that similar ideologies could be found in Hungary and Poland although I am a little less familiar about their parties. The one to watch is Nikolas Sarkozy - likely the next President of France. Recent statments from him suggests he might be open to follow where the Tories lead in Europe.
Thank you for your thoughts on the issue. We have much to gain both as a country and as a party in allying ourselves with our friends in central Europe.
As to Sarko, I can't help feeling that the French are beginning to realise that the EU is no longer their empire, and when that realisation really sinks in they will be at least as zealous in attempting to protect their national interests - as outsiders - as we are.
I appreciate your blog's overseas coverage and the wary eye you cast over some of the received wisdom forced down our throats.
NB - In a few weeks I am migrating to Prague in the Czech Republic for a while, so I hope to become better informed and boost themembership and activity of the Tory branch there.
Good luck with work and Tory things, and keep me posted on how things shake down politics-wise please.
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