Cast Iron and Stone Deaf
‘Other countries would never put party political gestures ahead of national interests. This is the most unpatriotic move by an opposition party I’ve ever seen’
That was another foreign diplomat talking about the Hague/Cameron attempt to persuade the Czech President not to sign the Lisbon Treaty - a treaty, by the way, which in many ways is a triumphant vindication of the UK’s close involvement with our European allies.
Is the Hague/Cameron approach to the European Union ‘deaf’ as the French minister hastily explained as what he meant by ‘autistic’? Or should the Tories’ obsessive, tin-eared behaviour be explained through comparisons with medical conditions that show alarmingly similar characteristics.
Autism campaigners in France and Britain are right to be offended by the comparison. Who would want to be compared to a Tory Euro-sceptic? But let’s get real. We can use ‘deaf’ to describe someone who doesn’t listen, as well as someone who has a hearing disability. We can call someone ‘blind’ who refuses to see, as well as someone who is without sight. And we can use ‘autistic’ to describe behaviour that is obsessive, lacking in empathy, and very stressful and emotionally exhausting for those who have to manage it.