Yet more thoughtful and respectful dialogue from the media

There has been predictable rending of garments from the mainstream media following David Cameron’s Europe speech. Having listened to the speech, I can’t see what all the fuss is about; Mr Cameron merely proposed putting the question of Britain’s membership to the British people, while repeatedly – and convincingly – reaffirming his own commitment to staying in. But of course “Europe” is That Which Must Not Be Called Into Question, and so our elites exploded in apoplexy.

The Irish Independent’s editorial tried to reassure its readers that there was nothing to worry about, suggesting that Cameron may have had some tactical reasons for his speech. The paper wrote that “keeping rabid Eurosceptics in his party safe in their kennels is a significant consideration, as is keeping the right-wing UKIP on the political margins where it belongs.”

Rabid? Safe in their kennels? What kind of language is that? And how would our own thin-skinned media class react if a British newspaper wrote about mainstream Irish politicians in such a manner?

You can’t help agreeing with Daniel Hannan  that Europhiles are more driven by hatred of Eurosceptics, or by what they imagine Eurosceptics to be, than by any real love of their fellow Europeans.