Second European leader declares multicult a failure

First it was German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Now it's David Cameron, Prime Minister of the Disunited Kingdom. Speaking to a security conference in Munich, Mr. Cameron has had the courage to say plainly what most Britons feel but don't dare say: state multiculturalism has failed.

Something must be done quickly, he said, to heal divisions in the country and "promote Western values". Mr. Cameron failed to equate Western values and Christian values, a glaring omission in Walt's opinion. Why? Because Mr. Cameron's chief worry is the radicalization of young Muslims and other marginalized elements in British society.

In the UK, as elsewhere, it's not the white, nominally Christian kids who are putting gunpowder in their shorts and plotting attacks on subways and office towers. It's the Muslims who are taking to the streets to either pray to Allah or demonstrate against the Western societies whose guests they are.

Mr. Cameron called for Britain and other European nations to “wake up to what is happening in our countries” as well as tackling terrorism through military operations overseas. “It is time to turn the page on the failed policies of the past,” he went on. “Instead of ignoring this extremist ideology [Islamic fundamentalism], we – as governments and societies – have got to confront it, in all its forms.”

And there's more. Mr. Cameron also said, “Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream. We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong ... All this leaves some young Muslims feeling rootless.”

Mr. Cameron stopped short of calling on the Muslim yoof to go back to Pakistan or Iraq or Afghanistan in search of their roots. Rather, he said, it was time to replace Britain’s “passive tolerance” with an “active, muscular liberalism” to send a message that life in Britain revolves around certain key values such as freedom of speech, equal rights and the rule of law.

The Prime Minister did not go into specifics of what should be done if the Muslims refuse to accept and abide by those "key values". Walt wishes him -- and Britain -- good luck with the "active, muscular liberalism" thing.