At last, our politicians are actually mentioning the euro. It is an extraordinary comment on the stultifying consensus and cowardice that dominates the Westminster debate that the financial crisis has developed so far without this obvious issue returning to the agenda. Even now, it has not done that.

George Osborne's speech on Friday appeared principally motivated by his continuing need to avenge his mauling at the hand of Peter Mandelson over Oleg Deripaska and shore up his personal credibility with his back-benchers, which was so sorely strained by that affair. He was reminding them, indirectly, that Mandelson's word is again in question, this time over an alleged conversation with Manuel Barroso no less, and signalling that he can be trusted with the sacred flame of anti-Europeanism, which burns so brightly in most of their breasts.

In comparison with this solid political rationale, his actual arguments against the euro were utterly insubstantial. Indeed, his only clear point was that it is wrong for pro-Europeans "to seize on our economic difficulties for their own political ends". Plainly, this unpatriotic conduct can only be permissible for good anti-Europeans like himself.

The response of Caroline Flint was equally tangential. In insisting that giving up the pound "is not for now", her principal motive was to use Osborne's attack tactically, to portray the Conservatives' obsession with Europe as making them out of touch with the vast majority of people, who are currently concerned only with the economy, while shoring up the government's credibility with international markets, which has been so sorely tested by the alarming rise in our current funding deficit.

She was reminding them, indirectly, that the government's word on the eventual participation of Britain in the single currency is believed by Manuel Barroso himself, and signalling that we will repay the debts we are now running up so recklessly, and will restore the stability of our public and household finances by eventually foregoing the abuse of printing the currency in which we borrow. There was no attempt to make this case, or any other, that would explain why joining the euro remains the government's long-term policy objective.

This sort of nod-and-wink approach to the critical question of how we save our economy is grotesque. I have no idea, actually, whether Osborne is a sincere anti-European. Nor can I judge how committed Flint feels to Britain eventually being in the eurozone. But I do know that anti-European Conservative MPs are much easier to fob off and fool than international currency traders.