‘Die-Hard Euro-skeptic’
Terra Firma may sell a stake in Deutsche Annington Immobilien AG, Germany’s largest residential landlord, in an initial public offering slated for 2013, Hands said.
Hands said Prime Minister David Cameron’s pledge to hold a referendum on continued membership of the European Union is a “dangerous” move to win votes in the short term, that may put the U.K.’s long-term economic interest at risk. Cameron said in January that, if he wins the 2015 election, he will begin a renegotiation of Britain’s membership of the 27-nation bloc, seeking to repatriate unspecified powers. He would then hold a referendum on a potential EU exit by the end of 2017.
“I was a die-hard euro-skeptic, but over the last ten years, just looking at way world trade is, and looking at the position of Europe and the U.K., there is no rational choice,” Hands said. “I don’t think Cameron thinks there is a rational choice either. He was just purely playing a political card which he hopes he will be able to win the next election on, and then claim a great victory in Europe and go back to the public and get the right vote. That’s a very dangerous strategy. We’ve seen how much voters are willing to turn on politicians these days.”