An in-trepid move
Liberal Democrats think they can win votes by being pro-European
STANDING for election as a pro-European is broadly considered career suicide in Britain. Polls bear out this hunch: a poll conducted by Eurobarometer in November 2013 showed that only 19% of Britons trust the European Union. This widespread antipathy explains why Europhiles tend to keep their views to themselves. It is also part of the reason why the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) may win more votes in the European elections due to be held in May than any other British party. But the Liberal Democrats, who are as earnestly pro-European as UKIP is raucously Eurosceptic, are boldly challenging the conventional wisdom by extolling the merits of the unloved EU.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “An in-trepid move”
From the March 1st 2014 edition
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