Christoph Bluth: Hague must move from spokesman to statesman

AS soon as the first Cabinet meeting of the Con-Lib coalition was over, Foreign Secretary William Hague went to Washington. The rush to pay homage to the United States sent a clear message: for the new Government, the restoration of the special relationship was the top priority of foreign policy.

At his meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Hague described the US as "without doubt the most important ally of the

United Kingdom". Although the Labour Party had also been committed to a special relationship with the US, this had come under strain in the aftermath of the decision to enter the Iraq War.

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For the first time since the Second World War, the special relationship with the United States had been openly questioned by members of a British Government. Its reaffirmation is designed to draw a line under these doubts. This is important in the light of several other foreign policy priorities for the new Government, namely the replacement of Trident with a new sea-based strategic nuclear deterrent and a more "sceptical" approach to the

European Union.

When the Tories were in opposition, David Cameron ordered Hague, the Richmond MP, to pull the Conservative MEPs out of the European People's Party-European Democrats Group (which included the mainstream conservative parties in Europe) and instead they joined another grouping described by Nick Clegg as "nutters" during the election campaign. The reason was the Tory leadership's opposition to the

Lisbon Treaty and any further European integration.

Policy towards Europe is one of the areas in which the divisions between the Tories and the Lib-Dems are so deep that they are likely to be an important source of friction in the future. The leaders of the Lib-Dems have always been committed to Britain's full participation in the EU

as one of its leading members (including joining the euro, the Lisbon Treaty and European defence co-operation).

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They have fully subscribed to the goal of "an ever closer union" embodied in the Treaty of Rome. Now they have been forced to accept that the UK will not join the euro during this parliament, that there will be "no further transfer of sovereignty or powers to the EU" and that any new proposed European treaty has to be subject to a referendum in the UK.

The Tories would also like to reconsider the role of the European Convention on Human Rights in the criminal justice system, although the statement on this is suitably vague.

While on the face of it this flatly contradicts everything the Lib Dems have ever stood for, it may prove less controversial in practice. This is because joining the euro is not an option for the foreseeable future.

When financial institutions faced collapse, Britain's position outside the European currency enabled the Government to provide a massive stimulus to save the banks and the wider economy. Part of this

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stimulus was the reduction in interest rates which was only possible because the UK kept control over its currency.

No government will be able to give up this control for years to come. Moreover, Britain is less exposed to the risks facing the eurozone at present as a result of the Greek financial crisis. Until the challenge

to the stability of the eurozonepasses, no British politician could even contemplate joining the euro.

As for other major initiatives on European integration, there are none on the horizon. Indeed, the greatest supporter of the "European superstate", Germany, has lost its appetite for this project.

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So while major clashes on Europe will probably be averted, that does not mean that there is no trouble ahead. Hague's strident Eurosceptic rhetoric of the past will be ill-suited to a Foreign Secretary who has to make the relationship with other European partners work. At the working-level of the EU, Britain will not be well served by a government that acts as a spoiler on every common initiative.

Although a renewal of the British-American special relationship is clearly in the national interest of the United Kingdom, it would be an illusion to conceive of it as a substitute for good relations with Europe.

In the first place, the US itself places a premium on European unity. For the US, Britain is only one of several strategic partners in Europe. Secondly, although there is some convergence between the US and the UK, especially on the "war on terror", the war in Afghanistan, and combating the spread of nuclear weapons (for example, Iran and North Korea), the Obama administration is more to the left of the political spectrum. It is committed to radical reductions in nuclear weapons (leading to a nuclear-free world) and joining the comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT). This could affect future discussions on Trident replacement.

Finally, political geography dictates that relations with Europe continueto dominate the UK's national interest. It is vital for Britain that William Hague manage the transition from opposition spokesman to statesman demanded by his high office.