He’s not exactly a reliable source is he? This is a minor storm in a teacup by people who really should mind their own business.

1. yes yes, sweep this whole messy and ugly affair under the rug. It has amazing implications for the “honesty” of the Tories and those they want to be a power in the EU yet people should “mind their own business”. Very good.

“Writing in the Guardian yesterday Edward McMillian-Scott pointed out that the main argument made by Tories for a new EU grouping is hypocritical – Kaminski supports the Lisbon treaty”.

But the Lisbon Treaty isn’t the reason the Tories made for forming a new alliance, in fact seeing as Cameron made the promise to leave the EPP prior to the signing of the Lisbon treaty it could not possibly have been the reason for forming a new alliance.

‘Why was there no call from luvvie-dom to boycott the ‘anti-gay Tories’ for being in alliance with the EPP, when the group includes Polish Civic Platform, the Deputy Speaker of which rejoiced in a court decision to deprive a lesbian mother of custody of her four-year-old daughter: “The court didn’t bow to pressure from the aggressive homosexual lobby, which came to make a scene as usual”. And it also includes Forza Italia, who produced a blatantly ‘homophobic’ poster at the last Italian general election (“Daddy and Papa? This isn’t the family we want!”). And the German CDU are not above manifestations of racism, having called for the deportation of ‘criminal foreigners’: “We have too many criminal young foreigners… Germany has had a Christian and Western culture for centuries, and foreigners who don’t stick to our rules don’t belong here”. They also campaigned in 2000 under the slogan Kinder statt Inder (‘Children rather than Indians’). And let us not forget the Austrian People’s Party, whose Secretary General called for the banning of burqas, adding: “If we allow consultations to be held in Turkish, we will one day become Turkish ourselves.”

All of these parties are members of the EPP. But Ben Summerskill and Stephen Fry never once objected to their ‘extreme’ and ‘offensive’ views, and never demanded of David Cameron that he disassociate from such ‘homophobes’ and ‘fascists’.

HT – Cranmer

The dig about the Common Agricultural Policy is a little strange – I’m pleased to hear the Tories are opposed to it (though slightly suprised), as pretty much everyone else in the UK opposes it. However, pretty much everyone else in the EU supports it, whether Polish or not.

The Lisbon stuff is far more revealing – principally because it puts the lie to what Cameron said about the possibility of delays to Polish & Czech ratification. Certainly Polish ratification looks like it’ll be swift if the treaty is that popular amongst rival political parties.

“The dig about the Common Agricultural Policy is a little strange – I’m pleased to hear the Tories are opposed to it (though slightly suprised),”

Not really, it’s a a very un-free-market policy.

“by people who really should mind their own business.”

You mean Jews?

Why was there no call from luvvie-dom to boycott the ‘anti-gay Tories’ for being in alliance with the EPP, when the group includes Polish Civic Platform, the Deputy Speaker of which rejoiced in a court decision to deprive a lesbian mother of custody of her four-year-old daughter:

He wasn’t the head of the fucking grouping was he? And how big was that grouping compared to this one? How many times does this point have to be drummed into you thickos?

#6 I meant in the sense that farmers are part of their traditional voting base. The NFU opposes scrapping/replacing CAP. Nonetheless, if the Tories are indeed joining Labour in coming out against CAP, I’m pleased.

It’s easy enough to smear any European grouping with allegations of a colourful past.

The EPP contains Fine Gael, the successor of the Army Comrades Association, whose Blueshirts in the 1930s sought to emulate Hitler and Mussolini (no gratuitous bad jokes about their competence, please). They also contain the Austrian People’s Party, the successor organization the Fatherland Front and its subsidiary the Christian Social Party, both of whom were horribly implicated in the Anschluss and the ensuing Nazi administration. And, albeit understandably, the Finnish Kokoomus party collaborated with the Germans during the war. The Spanish Popular Party was founded by Franco’s Minister of Tourism. And, perhaps most famously, there’s the Italian Party now called PdL, but formerly called MSI, which was the refoundation of Mussolini’s own party.

Likewise, the PES has the obvious renamed Communist parties in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, and so on. We could start mentioning purges, Stalin, and every other word that might offend the purity of your bodily fluids.

Perhaps we should all go and vote for the Monster Raving Loony Party.

The attacks on Mr Kaminski are worse than childish. They deserve far more disdain than the stupid whispers about what members of the Labour government did as students. For they don’t reflect on Mr Kaminski per se, but on the amount of time for which democracy has been legal in Poland. They are precariously close to racism.

For they don’t reflect on Mr Kaminski per se, but on the amount of time for which democracy has been legal in Poland. They are precariously close to racism.

That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard so far – pointing out Kaminski’s past is racism itself. Hilarious.

“You’re a racist, so that gives me the right to be a racist” isn’t a sensible argument. Any politician who isn’t some robot clone of the variety so beloved of New Labour will have said (or done) something idiotic at some point; that doesn’t give us an excuse to be eternal idiots back. Ultimately, flawed politicians are good for democracy.

We should be welcoming the Polish into a democratic Europe, rather than pursuing the double whammy of being inconsistently rude about their politicians for having been there when it wasn’t a free country and doing our damnedest to keep their workers out of Britain.

@13 just on a technicality, we haven’t done “our damnedest” to keep their workers out of the UK. Unlike much of Europe – including Germany – we granted poles equal freedom of movement, that’s why their here (were here, I should say, they’re leaving in record numbers).

That was us treating them fairly. It’s the press that have been doing their “damnedest” to drive up sales by providing a scapegoat.