You can't accuse Cameron of lacking principles while blaming him for taking a principled stand

There's something quite ironic going on in all this Cameron-bashing over Juncker. The charge against Cameron in Europe (and also at home) is often that he lacks principles. That he's pushed around by backbenchers or pursues narrow tactical personal or national interest.

Now that he has come out fighting for a principle - in this case whether powers should be arbitrarily transferred to Brussels and key decisions made by a fledgling transnational parliament with very limited democratic support, rather than democratically elected national governments and parliaments - he's being accused of blundering diplomacy.

Yes, of course, Cameron could have done things differently. But if he believes that the principle is wrong, can you blame him for, as he says, fighting "until the end". In contrast, Angela Merkel - who's a formidable power politician and who we have a lot of respect for in general - is flip-flopping like crazy over Juncker. And Matteo Renzi, the Italian PM, is busy striking back-room deals to let Italy off the hook on EU budget rules in exchange for backing Juncker.

On this occasion, Cameron wasn't even pushed around by his own backbenchers. In fact, Better Off Outers would probably love to see Juncker become President as it'll strengthen their cause. Also, some sceptics see this as a "pointless battle." So, Cameron seems to be taking a genuinely principled stance even if it comes with a political price.

In a sense, one could argue that, rather than the Spitzenkandidaten process falling victim to British politics, Cameron has fallen victim to German domestic politics.

Yesterday Handelsblatt's London correspondent Matthias Thibault sort of picked up on this theme arguing:

“We should thank David Cameron,” because, “at least we know where he stands – not only regarding Juncker – but also on the future direction of the EU. We still don’t know where the German Chancellor stands… But at some point she will have to decide, if, and how much, play-room she wants to give her British friend.”

So did a former judge at the German Constitutional Court, Udo di Fabio, who wrote last week in FAZ:

"The fact that there were candidates for the post of the Commission President is a fact created in the political realm, however with little proven resonance by the voters. This fact is neither legally nor politically binding for the Council’s suggestion [of the Commission President]."  

"Those who resent the British Prime Minister for having an opinion on personnel-related issues did not understand the system. Those who demand the British exit or approvingly accept it because the UK does not want to follow rules which are not to be found in the [EU] treaties want a different Europe than what is laid down in the treaties."  

"More centralisation in some areas is possible, but one has to soberly discuss the repatriation or a better separation of powers in areas such as labour and social law. Relevant proposals from the Netherlands or the UK should not be immediately viewed suspiciously as re-nationalisation programmes."     

Ten things that David Cameron should NOT say to Angela Merkel

UK PM David Cameron is today meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as part of British efforts to explain to EU partners the thinking behind Cameron's recent EU speech. As we've argued repeatedly, this is the UK's most important bilateral relationship in Europe. So what could Cameron tell Merkel to convince her that his vision of Europe is worth investing in? Well, see here and here for some suggestions.

But knowing British diplomacy, equally important is what Cameron SHOULDN'T say. So after consulting our esteemed colleagues at Open Europe Berlin, we give you ten quips that most certainly wouldn't go down well with the Iron Chancellor - and that Cameron best stay well clear of. Here goes:

1. "How's that new exciting anti-euro party coming along?"

2. "Could you explain this ‘Target 2’ thingy…[pause]…how big!?” 

3. "We have formed this new ECR group in European Parliament - thought you might want to get involved?” 

4. "I always thought the ECB should become more activist."

5. "We’ve got some very clever people in the City who could design those Eurobonds for you. It's the 'inexorable logic' of a monetary union don't you know?" 

 6. "We’ve got a new central bank governor, he’s foreign, and he has stressed the need for ‘flexible inflation targeting’, why are you guys so uptight about Mario?" 

7. "Can you point me to that no-bailout clause in the EU treaties again?" 

8. "Have you been following Berlusconi’s political comeback? Very interesting…" 

9. "Those tweets of yours are hilarious – who says Germans don’t have a sense of humour?" 

10. "So Angela, Nick Clegg and Philipp Rösler - want to swap?" 

One of those is an actual Cameron quote - a free copy of an Open Europe report of choice for those who can figure out which....