David Cameron has managed to win the UK general election. Few would have expected that after the austerity and the restrictive policy term, after a term, when the economic crisis wounded European bonds and after the issue of immigration that has made the British Prime Minister a completely right wing politician, the majority of British public opinion would have entrusted him again.
The electoral stakes were the economy, the post-election stakes include everything. The opposition has come out weakened from these elections, however, new associations have been created. The main new association comes from Scotland. The SNP successfully capitalized extroversion taken in autumn 2014 and has managed to be the big winner. The Conservatives managed to squeeze just one seat in Scotland.
The upcoming elections to the Scottish parliament will be particularly important. Each political step of SNP longer will be important for the central government of Westminster.
The three opposition leaders, that lost the election, have already resigned. Farage looks firm to continue in UKIP but both Labour and the Liberals will take enough time to re-enter into a political normality. This time of course will benefit Cameron, who will immediately seek to identify priorities for the new government.
It is the economy. It is society. It is Europe.
The three main and most demanding routes of the new government policies are those. On the day of the British election and then, a large part of the European and American press deal with the future and the quality of the relationship between Britain and the United Europe.
Both the pro-European and the Eurosceptic trends wondering how Cameron will be able to balance the opposing positions between his party. Favor of Europe or against Europe? That is the question, which the new British government is preparing to send out to British citizens.
However one of the most critical issues for Cameron is to manage the tension on independence in Scotland. The SNP is a party directly friendly towards the EU and possibly a negative answer to the referendum or even the intensity, which will be created, will restore the relative intensity in Scotland.
Another school of thought, however, demonstrates the political benefits, which are lost, as Britain does not cooperate with Germany on Europe. Specifically arguments focus on common economic perception of the two governments and the joint economic benefits that would come through fruitful cooperation between Germany and Britain. The EU’s political core is the Franco-German axis. The cooperation, namely between these two countries, which have different economic policy, makes the producing common European policy unstable. Consider with what kind of election program Hollande has been elected, what kind of policy then has been followed, after admonitions of Merkel and the profound weakness of the French economy to proceed with a budgetary adjustment process.
In other words, if British politics needs to open in the UK the issue of Europe, the agenda should be enriched with spherical arguments, which will examine and support in every respect.
The issue of Europe associates firmly now with the Scottish domestic politics. However, no one might overlook the fact that the anti-European agenda, especially in the British right, has gained such intensity, that a clear answer, “in or out” is, eventually needs to be given. Referendums, however, always involve risks. The referendum was that, which gave impetus to the SNP and it managed to receive almost all Scottish seats.
If the decision on the referendum will be received, then the British policy should be prepared for a very clear, strong record of opposition of staying Britain in Europe. The contrast will stay, even if the answer to the referendum will be positive for Europe. It will take considerable political courage in order respect and democratic ethos to dominate after the referendum and in order the public and political opinion to calm around this event, which certainly plaguing the British debate for decades.