The UK prime minister has to get off the fence over the referendum on his country's future in Europe, comments Nixon in his WSJ column.
Uncertainty over British membership is having real world consequences, undermining [Cameron's] efforts to win battles in Brussels. The UK is already paying a price for Mr Cameron’s isolation in Europe; the recent defeat over new EU bank bonus curbs was the first time the UK had been defeated on a substantial issue relating to financial services.
UKallies such as Poland, Sweden and the Netherlands are wary of being identified with what is perceived to be British obstructionism. Far too late, Mr Cameron has understood the necessity of strengthening his government’s relationship with Germany—the number of bilateral meetings at all levels has risen four-fold since 2010—but there is still a long way to go, a senior government figure concedes.
The stakes could not be higher. Mr Cameron likes to say that Britain is engaged in a global race. While he sits on the fence, hiding behind promised renegotiation, other EU countries such as Ireland are taking full advantage of the uncertainty to try to lure away valuable foreign investment. Mr Cameron is fast approaching a simple choice: Either he must allow himself to be dragged further down the path towards Brexit, shoring up his short-term political position but risking major damage to the UK national interest. Or he must make a full-throated defence of British membership that categorically rules out an exit.
Of course, the latter comes with significant risk that he splits his party and swiftly finds himself out of a job. But that’s the thing about leadership: Sometimes you have no option but to lead.
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