This cartoon by Dave Brown from The Independent relates to the latest E.U. summit meeting, which begins in Brussels today. David Cameron is riding a tricycle along the middle of the road. Coming from the opposite direction driving a steamroller are Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy (aka Merkozy).
EXPLANATION
'Chicken' is a game in which two drivers drive towards each other on a collision course: one must swerve, or both may die in the crash, but if one driver swerves and the other does not, the one who swerved will be called a "chicken," meaning a coward [see Wikipedia for more on this].
The cartoonist uses the game of chicken as a metaphor for the current political situation. Mail Online explains the stakes:
Cameron has told MPs he would fight for the UK national interest in tonight’s EU treaty talks, declaring: ‘The more eurozone countries ask for, the more we will ask for in return.' However, Mrs Merkel made it clear she intends to say ‘nein’ to Mr Cameron’s attempts to extract special safeguards for Britain as the eurozone countries move to create a single economic government.
So it looks as though they are on a collision course. But as the cartoon suggests, the balance of power is not in Britain's favour ...
ALSO SEE
• Cameron flies to make-or-break Euro summit (Mail Online)
• EU summit signals crunch time for Cameron at home and abroad (The Guardian)
• Paul Thomas cartoon (Daily Express)
