Tories split on Euro force

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, NOV. 25. Serious differences have erupted at the top of the Tory leadership over the new European Rapid Reaction Force just when it looked that the party had finally found a potentially strong issue to put the Government on the defensive.

In an embarrassing development, two senior Conservative leaders, Mr. Michael Heseltine and Mr Kenneth Clarke, have backed the Blair Government's decision to commit British troops to the new force, and questioned their party chief, Mr. William Hague's criticism. They have, in fact, pointed out that the Euro force was the culmination of a process which began under the Conservative regime and with its support.

Mr. Heseltine, a former Defence Secretary, said the force made ``absolute sense'' and contrary to Mr. Hague's contention that it was not a threat to NATO. Nor were the Americans opposed to it, he told The Times. He said it had been ``welcomed by the American President and is consistent with what the Americans have been advising us for decades.''

Mr. Heseltine opposed Mr. Hague's pledge to withdraw Britain from the force if Tories came to power. He said it would be a tragedy for Britain to have its influence on European defence reduced. Speaking in the Commons, Mr. Clarke, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, reminded Mr Hague and the former Prime Minister, Mr. John Major, that the Euro force was the product of the Conservative policy. ``The last Government... embarked on a process of evolving NATO towards a different shape that also involved strengthening the European element'', he said adding that ``we always in my opinion... were contemplating producing something of this kind.''

Mr. Hague has also been attacked by Mr. Chris Patten, one of Britain's Commissioners to E.U. He called Mr Hague's criticism of the Euro force ``crazy'' and contested his charge that it was a first towards creating a European army. ``It is crazy to suggest that this is the creation of a European army or an attempt to kick the Americans out of Europe. Nothing could be further from the truth'', he said.

The rift in the Tories has pleased the Government which in the past few days took some hard knocks from Euro- sceptics with Mrs Margaret Thatcher, in a rare public intervention, calling it a ``monumental folly'' and Mr. Tony Blair returning the compliment with his famous remark that the Thatcher era was over. Mr. Blair also had had a running battle with newspapers some of whom he accused of being ``fundamentally dishonest'' in the way they reported Europe.

The public criticism of Mr Hague by his own senior party leaders comes at a time when he thought that the party had finally got an issue to put the Government on the defensive in the run-up to the general elections. In the event, it seems that many in the party are opposed to the idea of fighting the elections on a ``one- issue'' campaign.

The fact that the Labour party made a clean sweep of Thursday's parliamentary byelections despite the anti-Labour hype over Europe is seen as a clear indication that the Tories would need to reorient their election strategy; and that Labour-bashing on one issue alone would not do.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Initiative for integration on
Next     : E.U.-U.S. differences wreck global climate talks