Can David Cameron stand up to Angela Merkel?

[Tootrue]

Cameron is in Germany trying to stop yet more powers being taken over by Brussels than even the Lisbon Treaty allowed. Do you think that he will succeed or will Merkel walk all over him in her macho fashion?

[Midas]

Cameron is in Germany trying to stop yet more powers being taken over by Brussels than even the Lisbon Treaty allowed. Do you think that he will succeed or will Merkel walk all over him in her macho fashion?

I think he's got too much to lose if he lets her walk over him. He's already stated publicly that he's going to resist giving any more powers to the EU, so it would be less than an auspicious start to give ground at the first meeting after saying that.

[uncon]

I think he's got too much to lose if he lets her walk over him. He's already stated publicly that he's going to resist giving any more powers to the EU, so it would be less than an auspicious start to give ground at the first meeting after saying that.

Look at her! She is even looking happier - it's getting quite flirty there. It appears the oily ones charm is working on her rusty joints

[BirminghamTory]

Today, Germany is more an ally on this agenda, if you look at the debate around the package to save the euro the Germany are also very opposed to a transfer of power. Instead they are wanting to opt for a temporary system supervised by national parliaments, rather than a permanent set up controlled by Brussels. The federalist danger is more in France than Germany. The key will be building trust with our partners, and a constructive dialogue, or we will be marginalised from the negotiations. We need to use compromise, and support for the saving of the euro to push our agenda to limit our exposure to qualified voting under the Lisbon treaty.

[Major Sinic]

Look at her! She is even looking happier - it's getting quite flirty there. It appears the oily ones charm is working on her rusty joints

Oily? I didn't know Mandelson was there! You can't be referring to Dave surely? Just because we now have an English prime minister, who is charismatic, articulate, courteous, principled and immensely intelligent (they don't give out firsts at Oxford like peerages you know!) does not make him oily! I accept that he might appear so in comparison with his brooding, ill tempered, arrogant, bully of a predecessor from north of the border.

Poor old Angie needs any friend she can get. Heading up a coalition which has lost its majority, as a result of her bail out of the Greek economy - now there is an oily nation, but sadly for them not the type that comes out of the ground.

Dave will have no problem standing up to Angie, and he will do it with a masterful charm which will leave her grateful. Don't forget that it was on the playing fields of England's public schools that the spirit which defeated the 'Hun' was nurtured!

[uncon]

Oily? I didn't know Mandelson was there! You can't be referring to Dave surely? Just because we now have an English prime minister, who is charismatic, articulate, courteous, principled and immensely intelligent (they don't give out firsts at Oxford like peerages you know!) does not make him oily! I accept that he might appear so in comparison with his brooding, ill tempered, arrogant, bully of a predecessor from north of the border.

Poor old Angie needs any friend she can get. Heading up a coalition which has lost its majority, as a result of her bail out of the Greek economy - now there is an oily nation, but sadly for them not the type that comes out of the ground.

Dave will have no problem standing up to Angie, and he will do it with a masterful charm which will leave her grateful. Don't forget that it was on the playing fields of England's public schools that the spirit which defeated the 'Hun' was nurtured!

I have huge admiration for his achievements, and am quite confident that he will be strong in Europe to our advantage....still oily though

[uncon]

Today, Germany is more an ally on this agenda, if you look at the debate around the package to save the euro the Germany are also very opposed to a transfer of power. Instead they are wanting to opt for a temporary system supervised by national parliaments, rather than a permanent set up controlled by Brussels. The federalist danger is more in France than Germany. The key will be building trust with our partners, and a constructive dialogue, or we will be marginalised from the negotiations. We need to use compromise, and support for the saving of the euro to push our agenda to limit our exposure to qualified voting under the Lisbon treaty.

I'd be pretty bloody nervous if I had fought to make my bank the bank of Europe and it's going tits up while I have a nice tasty surplus...who would have to bail out the Bundesbank?

The fact we are to certain extent outside allows us to keep our credit rating because Europe doesn't have to bail us out for it's own survival...we would be bankrupt if we were in it as we have failed every one of their conditions. Now we have to get strength quickley and with it power in Europe.

[Scooby]

Merkel isn't in the positon of strength that she used to be, domestically she is being tolerated, Germans are not happy with the way things are going, the German government is way too scared to even contemplate putting any choices to the electorate in Germany as they know that it will be the end of the EU. Cameron is by the fortunes and vagaries of the markets and the profiglacy of the southern europeans lucky in that they have given him space to manoevre if he is deft about it. The EU is divided to a point never seen before and Merkel will not be able to get the Germans to swallow another baleout, and god only knows what will happen if Greece does not keep up it's payments, or another countries economy goes bang. Merkel is looking for allies to shore up the EU politically, and after some of her comments earlier this year about how bad Cameron would be for the UK's future i doubt he will be feeling excessively charitable towards her and she may well have to make concessions to keep the peace.

[AMGINGLES]

Cameron is just another puppet , he will use clegg as cover to push us deeper into europe and hence closer to world government. end of.