British Prime Minister David Cameron left himself little room for maneuver when he denounced the nomination of former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission. Calling the move "a serious mistake" and "a bad day for Europe," Cameron went down swinging in an unmistakable defeat, losing on a voice vote 26-2.

The problem now for Cameron is reconstructing a relationship not only with Juncker, but with other European heads of state and the British public after lashing the former so publicly and being humiliated in the eyes of the latter by the vote.

While most of the attention in the European parliamentary elections held in May focused on the gains made by anti-EU parties, in fact Europe's center-right won the largest bloc of seats. The latter had agreed to put Juncker forward as their candidate to head the European Commission, the most powerful organ in Brussels, which drafts European Union laws, oversees national budgets, enforces treaties and negotiates international trade agreements.