Cameron - Getting ready to govern

David Cameron made a major U-turn this week after the Czech Prime Minister signed up to the Lisbon Treaty. He found himself in the position of having promised a referendum on a treaty that had already been ratified by the whole of Europe. This referendum is no longer happening.

The fact that Cameron made that promise in the first place is a sign that the Conservatives are still divided over Europe. Surely he would have known that such a promise was unrealistic and was only made as a way of uniting the Euro-sceptic majority of the Conservative party behind him.

Now that Cameron is preparing his party to govern he has to adopt a more realistic approach as opposed to a political points scoring one. This could be sticky for him.

He must realise that Britain’s future relies on a positive relationship with Europe whilst the Conservatives future might rely on a coherent European policy. At the moment the two seem mutually contradictory and there is no doubt that this is an own goal for the Conservatives.

This episode suggests that although the Conservatives seem united on the outside, a few more cracks could well emerge in the lead up to the election as the party gets ready to govern.