To leave, or not to leave, that is the question

**In one of the final projects of my BA, I was given the topic ‘The future of Britain,’ and the indication that I was to write about solutions that would make it a prosperous one. The question I asked myself was ‘who can Britain count on?’ When I put it like that, I realised that the answer was very clear to me: Europe. An active participation in the European Union sounded like a pretty good way to increase Britain’s prosperity and power in the world.**

It has since become clear that David Cameron does not share my opinion. His speech earlier this year made a very clear threat to leave the European Union; in case the negotiations of Britain’s relationship with it did not go according to his expectations. This quickly became a topic on which many people felt the need to express their opinions.

{{ quote If Cameron really does think that a threat will get him further in the negotiations, then he is being extremely naive }}

The most interesting of all, however, belongs to Tony Blair. In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s _The World at One_, he said that Cameron’s speech reminded him “a bit of the Mel Brooks comedy _Blazing Saddles_ where the sheriff, at one point during it, holds a gun to his own head and says: “If you don’t do what I want I’ll blow my brains out.”’

Personally, it reminds me more of the scene from Spielberg’s _Hook_, in which Captain Hook also holds a gun to his head, but with the sole intention of getting Smee to remind him of just how much he is needed.

If Cameron really does think that a threat will get him further in the negotiations, then he is being extremely naïve. Indeed, Europe is going through very complicated times right now, which may cause his tactic, if there really is one, to backfire. This has already been proved, for example, by the declarations of the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, who said that he did not understand how Britain could express its opinion on the seven-year budget, when it might cease to be a member of the EU before that time elapses.

Nevertheless, as has been insinuated by quite a few politicians, Cameron may also be doing this as a political strategy, since the promised ‘In or Out’ referendum would only happen if the Conservative Party won the next elections. If this is his real strategy, then it is actually quite smart, as long as he does not expect all his requirements to be met by the EU.

In the end, one does have to agree with Blair when he expresses his disbelief that Cameron really thinks it is ‘sensible to get out of Europe even if he doesn’t achieve all of that agenda.’

As the former prime-minister puts it, “if Britain voted to go out, it would be a huge problem to our country’ because, as he explains, Britain would not be able to compete with growing powers like China and India if it were separated from Europe. All in all, reform and improvement? Most certainly. But abandonment? That would be economical suicide.