Wriggle it, just a little bit

When politicians say they won’t answer hypothetical “what if” questions it’s mainly because they know the answer will displease.

It’s also an attempt to avoiding committing to a position – leaving themselves a little “wriggle room” – in case they need to flip-flop later down the line.

That was what came to my mind when Cameron kicked off his campaign to get a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on Tuesday.

He wants a referendum now because he doesn’t like the agreement – but he won’t commit to pulling the country out of it on the first day of his premiership if the agreement has been ratified by all other European states by then.

My guess is that he won’t commit to it, because he won’t do it.

Britain’s withdrawal would be a bold move that might make the whole treaty collapse – I don’t think Cameron has the audacity to sour relationships with Sarkozy and Merkel so early in power.

Next week Minister for Europe Caroline Flint will also launch the What’s the EU ever done for you? campaign – an attempt to “mature” the British debate on the issue.

With battle lines being drawn before June’s European elections, you can bet she’ll say the Tories are divided and indecisive on the EU Treaty – Ken Clarke’s name will probably pop up.

How Cameron handles the situation will be a real test of him and how ‘repositioned’ his party really is.