rational geekery

I am not embarrassed to state I support The European Project. For all the protectionist rhetoric of the Right they have never proposed a workable alternative that would enable the UK to thrive in the new era of globalisation.

Britain is crowded and lacks the enterprise and resources to “go it alone”. Internal competition, shared technology and knowledge would enable Europe to create a flexible vibrant economy.

As Nicolas Sarkozy stated yesterday in reference to the French economy: -

"The best social model is the one that gives work to everybody. It is not, therefore, our own."

I agree that Europe should have social model to rival any region on Earth, but should we ‘gold plate’ our social model leaving us uncompetitive and at the mercy of more streamlined economies? No of course not and Sarkozy is right if unfashionable.

With the European political climate becoming more hostile following a decade of stunted growth and high unemployment, the electorate will look to realists who will have to bring in the very reforms the French have just rejected.

Blair – or more likely Brown – may find himself with willing allies in Sarkozy and Angela Merkel (the likely future German Chancellor). This trident of realists who understand that Globalisation cannot be ignored – and are equally aware of the demands of a socially pampered electorate – will have to modernise the stagnant European economy.

Thomas L Friedman; someone who understands globalisation more than most, wrote in today’s New York Times: -

'It is interesting because French voters are trying to preserve a 35-hour workweek in a world where Indian engineers are ready to work a 35-hour day. Good luck.'

Friedman’s tongue may have been firmly in his cheek, but his point is very real. India represents a modernising market friendly environment that attracts industry and jobs away from the developed countries of Western Europe and the US. Jobs in the service industry are all well and good for countries that rely on tourism, but for sophisticated economies like those of Germany and Britain it is manufacturing jobs that help weigh the trade balance in our favour.

Britain too like Europe has lost many manufacturing jobs as it began increasing its social system without the means to finance it. So Britain too has an interest in reforming the economy both at home and on the continent.

Even in the Guardian yesterday the much-travelled Timothy Garton Ash wrote: -

'Substantive Blairism, which is what Europe needs in its socio-economic model, only has a chance of being accepted if Blair's Britain is not seen to be its main missionary.'

Europe may indeed need more radical Thatcherism but this will never wash across much of Europe. Garton’s main thrust is that only with likeminded allies can we hope to reform the EU, and again be competitive.

We will never compete with Asian economies in labour-intensive industries such as mass produced plastics and textiles, but we can embrace key areas such as high value automobiles, electronics, software, and corporate services. We can ensure that the first call of technology companies when looking for expansion is the EU.

If our continent can just about keep its collective head above the water while wielding such a cumbersome and unhelpful social model, just imagine it liberated from its current legislation and expense.

Britain so long on the fringes of Europe following De Gaulle’s veto in 1963, can now take the reigns from the beleaguered incumbent leaders and enforce this much needed radical agenda. The French have proven they no longer have the vision or stomach to run Europe.

The Tories had it half right with “In Europe, but not run by Europe”, but I suggest the far more committal “In Europe, and running Europe.”

La Constitution britannique Est Mort, Vive La Constitution britannique!