Sebastian Payne notes that David Cameron’s fear-mongering over “Brexit” is getting worse:
Mr Johnson’s rhetoric was more measured than Mr Cameron’s, who warned in his speech that voting to leave the bloc could lead to war. “Can we be so sure that peace and stability on our continent are assured beyond any shadow of doubt? Is that a risk worth taking? I would never be so rash as to make that assumption,” he said. The government’s “Project Fear” is turning into “Project Terror”.
It’s possible that the Remain camp could win using these scare tactics, but it seems more likely that Cameron is making opposition to “Brexit” appear more risible and unhinged with such claims. “Brexit” isn’t going to lead to armed conflict in Europe, and it’s absurd to think that it would. This not only gives the EU too much credit for peace in Europe, but it grossly exaggerates the danger that British exit poses to regional security.
The side in any debate that resorts to the greatest threat inflation is typically the side that doesn’t have much of an argument. The Remain campaign’s greatest difficulty is that it has to make a positive case for a resented, dysfunctional, unaccountable institution, and there simply isn’t much of a case to be made. So they are stuck issuing increasingly deranged warnings of what will happen if Britain votes to leave. Contrary to what Payne says, the arguments for remaining in the EU can’t be so “clear and powerful” if the leading advocate for it isn’t making them.