This cartoon by Schrank from The Independent on Sunday relates to the current debate over Britain's future in Europe.
BACKGROUND
UK Prime Mininster David Cameron is preparing to make a landmark speech later this month when he is expected to call for a renegotiation of Britain's membership of the EU and possibly a referendum on Britain's new terms. Cameron has said that Britain would be 'mad to leave Europe', but is under pressure to appease Conservative Eurosceptics who are demanding radical reforms in key areas including policing, justice and employment laws.
THE CARTOON
Cameron is portrayed as a small boy at the zoo with his parents, President Obama and Angela Merkel. He is ignoring the warning sign and holding out a chip to a nasty-looking Eurosceptic beast. Obama raises an admonitory finger, while Merkel looks worried - reflecting their reaction to Cameron's Euro strategy. In fact, a senior German politician said last week that a British exit would be a disaster for Britain and Europe, and that an attempt renegotiate the UK’s membership terms would open a “Pandora’s box”, while the Barack Obama administration warned on Wednesday that Mr Cameron could risk undermining British influence on the world stage by putting its EU membership in jeopardy. Read more >>
VOCABULARY
Eurosceptic is a portmanteau word combining 'European' and 'sceptic'. A sceptic (with a hard 'c') is a person inclined to question or doubt accepted opinions.
