Having briefed German newspapers that he would do everything in his power to fight those who would destroy the European social model — code for Tony Blair — Herr Schröder started the boat-rocking by conspicuously failing to show up for Wednesday night’s dinner at Downing Street for Europe’s centre-left leaders.

He then arrived half an hour late for yesterday’s summit. Asked by journalists whether Britain could act as a social model for Europe, he answered: “Certainly not.”

He then gave a speech to EU leaders peppered with coded — and not so coded — attacks on Mr Blair. He gave warning about the “high expectations of Tony Blair”. He said that “the societies on the European Continent were societies of consensus”, implying that the island off the Continent was something else.

He torpedoed Mr Blair’s attempts to get his counterparts to back the new globalisation fund by declaring that he was “more than sceptical”. Lest the British hoped that Frau Merkel might take a softer line, he said that she agreed with him.

He insisted that the EU start harmonising taxes — a red rag to the British Government. He spoke of the perils of the free-market economics so beloved by Mr Blair. He said that people regarded the EU’s single market as a “Trojan horse” for unbridled economic competition. He insisted that politicians should be judged not by how much they liberalise the economy, but how much social protection they provide.

He insisted that leaders should promote freedom, prosperity and social justice, and claimed that “only someone who fulfils these criteria has the legitimacy to take Europe forward”. It was clear that he did not consider Mr Blair to be such a person.

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