The Financial Times, 24th April 2007

Financial Times: Observer Column, by James Wilson

'Entente cordiale'

As Segolene Royal searches for additional supporters for the second round of the French presidential election in 12 days, she will no doubt be cheered by praise from Global Vision, the new British Eurosceptic pressure group. Ruth Lea, its director, says Sego's decision to promise voters a referendum on any new European Union treaty is a "principled position" - unlike that of Mr Blair, Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch prime minister, and Nicolas Sarkozy, Sego's centre-right rival, who all reject a plebiscite.

Ms Lea's day job is director of the Centre for Policy Studies, the Tory think-tank founded by Margaret Thatcher and Sir Keith Joseph. The two organisations also share a chairman: Lord Blackwell, a policy adviser to Mrs Thatcher in the 1980s and John Major in the 1990s.

Ms Royal, who professes to admire Mr Blair, will no doubt find their endorsement reassuring.