David Cameron, the politician who plunged the United Kingdom into the waters of 'Brexit' and who now returns as Sunak's burning nail

“The British people have made the decision to take a different path”. That was one of David Cameron's last phrases as British Prime Minister. It was 2016 and the Brexit referendum, called by the Conservative leader from his Downing Street chair, had passed the sentence by a very narrow margin: the United Kingdom was leaving the European Union.. 52% compared to 48%. Enough for the country, through Cameron, to begin digging the hole into which most of its recent problems have ended up, wrapped in tremendous political instability.

Perhaps this uncertainty is the reason why David Cameron now returns to the Government as the new Foreign Minister – what a paradox -, seven years after leaving number 10 for the last time.. If he is included, the United Kingdom has six premiers in just seven years, and it is Sunak, now in office, who seeks a coup d'état in his Government in the face of a dramatic drop in the polls for the Conservatives. Cameron will therefore have the role of representing the country in part in relations with the European Union, which now seem much calmer waters than years ago, especially in the era of Boris Johnson.

There is one more key and that is that Cameron is not a deputy right now, an essential requirement to take office as the new Foreign Minister, but there is an alternative route that involves joining the House of Lords urgently, as he explained. the BBC after learning of Sunak's decision. His return is not a unique case, since the conservative Alec Douglas-Home, Prime Minister between 1963 and 1964, also returned to the Government as head of Health in the following decade.. On the other hand, Douglas-Home was a deputy when he returned to the Executive. However, Cameron would in fact be freed from the scrutiny of Parliament in his position as Foreign Secretary by being a Lord.

British diplomacy is also going through one of the most relevant moments in recent history, and the prime minister clings to the political experience of his predecessor.. London has to remain one of Ukraine's main supports in the face of the Russian invasion, as well as navigate the waters of the war between Israel and Hamas.. Cameron himself referred to this, who believes that his “experience” can help Sunak in the global context.

“We are facing a series of daunting international challenges, such as the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East,” reacted the former prime minister.. In addition, the path to closing bilateral trade agreements continues, since the Brexit pushed by Cameron himself has already been fully consummated.. During his tenure as prime minister, he was also known for his good relations with leaders such as Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Liberal since his beginnings as a politician, he began as a rank-and-file deputy in 2001, and had no experience in Government for a long time.. That did not prevent him from growing in the ranks of the Conservative Party. He was leader of the opposition from 2005 to 2010, during the terms of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, in the most golden times of Labor. Already in 2010, the ravages of the economic crisis pushed the conservatives to power and Cameron thus began six years sitting in 10 Downing Street full of decisions.. some of them prepared to mark the future of the country.

His times in power are seen in the European Union key, especially for two reasons.. Brexit, yes, but not only. The drift of the Tories was already seen when they left the European People's Party to found the group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which currently brings together the main radical right and Eurosceptic formations in Parliament. European. That step was a warning for what was to come in 2016.

The United Kingdom had almost always been the black sheep of the EU, and confirmed this drift under the Tory mandate with the call for a referendum to leave the community bloc. The vote went towards yes by a narrow margin and with many territorial differences. Cameron, who had campaigned for permanence, had to accept the result and resigned to make way for Theresa May.. She and then Boris Johnson, one of the most relevant Brexiters, if not the most, were left in charge of finishing the job.

Cameron left the political front line through the back door and quickly fell silent. Some time later he assumed the commitment to the referendum as a mistake, caused by the hardest wing of the conservatives, historically in favor of moving away from the EU.. The figure of David Cameron will remain in the history books as the person who pressed the red button for one of the most relevant institutional and political crises in the recent history of the United Kingdom.. Now he returns, again in troubled times, to see if Rishi Sunak saves the day. Cameron has his work cut out for him.

The reactions to his appointment were immediate and precisely the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, assured that it is time for relations between the EU and the United Kingdom to be “strengthened”, especially given the current geopolitical situation.. “In times of profound change, we need to stand together in defense of shared values and a rules-based order,” the High Representative said on social media.