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Yet another signal that Cameron wants to stay in EU ?
German election: Angela Merkel's triumph is good news for Britain
David Cameron must seize his moment to reverse the drive towards closer union
David Cameron certainly appreciates the importance of winning Merkel over to his cause: some
estimates say that the number of visits by British ministers to Berlin has quadrupled over the
past two years
The old joke about the European Union was that it had two capitals: Brussels and Berlin. In the
wake of the eurozone crisis, we can replace Brussels with Frankfurt - which is why Germany's
elections were watched with such keen interest in Downing Street.
David Cameron knows that his plan to negotiate a new deal between Britain and Europe depends
almost entirely on Germany's approval. So Angela Merkel's crushing victory will have been a cause
for both celebration and trepidation. The incumbent squashed all opposition, with her CDU/CSU party
winning 41.5 per cent of the vote. This can only be seen as a massive endorsement of her approach
to the eurozone crisis, trading German cash for others' austerity.
Whatever the differences between the CDU and the Tories, Cameron retains a hugely powerful
centre-Right counterpart with whom he can definitely do business. Merkel won't pay any price to keep
the UK in the EU, but she has dropped hints in public and private that she's willing to grant concessions
- including a reduction in the EU's powers - so long as it doesn't mean completely unpicking the
founding treaties. The CSU, the CDU's Bavarian sister party, is also an ally of Cameron's, not least
on issues such as rewriting EU rules about foreigners' access to benefits.
In any coalition, the CDU and CSU will control the chancellery and finance ministry. This is where
most of the de facto power over EU decisions now lies. Put simply: Merkelism will continue to dominate.
Which is why, as one journalist told me yesterday, "Cameron should pop open the champagne."
Courtesy Telegraph.