Yanis Varoufakis knows a thing or two about coming up against the E.U. so I believe him when he says that Theresa May lost the negotiations 18 months ago.
Everyone is now thinking in terms of their personal future. I know I am. If there were such people as scaremongers, then it looks as if their warnings are turning into self-fulfilling prophesy. This works both for the Remain scaremongers and the Leave ones.
In a way, Yanis Varoufakis had an easy job as finance minister for Greece. All he had to do was turn up to Brussels and say, "We haven't got any money. What are you going to do about it?"
Germany could hardly tell them to tighten their belts and impose a prolonged period of austerity. It couldn't have been any more austere without people actually starving to death. The chances of getting all those Greek shipping magnates to invest a bit of cash onshore in their own country was nil.
Quite a few people in the British Parliament have large (life-changing in my terms) financial investments in the E.U. so they are going to make the transition between in and out as difficult as Brussels always intended to.
You can't really blame them for trying to protect their pensions at the expense of everyone else's. It's only human.
The Brexit bashing peers should declare their interests but they won't and don't. I don't know when Theresa May lost the negotiations but I don't think she ever had any intention of winning them anyway.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can tell she allowed the EU to tell her what their terms were before putting any of hers in front of them. That's not negotiation, so you are probably right.
DeletePeople have compared this unfolding crisis with WW2 in terms of serious long-term disruption, but the difference is that we had the 'spirit of the blitz' which pulled most people together then. Everyone is splitting apart now. A better comparison would be with the Civil War. If Cromwell were to come back now, half the population would support him.
She colluded with the Germans on her own and Davis resigned followed by Raab. They saw what she was doing.
DeleteThe disillusioned on both sides may come together but want neither Labour nor Conservative so probably won't vote for anyone.
I wonder what would happen if nobody voted for anyone.
DeleteActually I know what would happen. Extremists would get in everywhere. That's how UKIP did so well. Apathy due to fatigue. They depend on it to come rising out of the sewers.
DeleteThe comparison with the blitz really annoys me. Then it was us vs the Germans. Now it's half of us vs the other half. Imagine how the atmosphere would have been in an air aid shelter if half of those sheltering were Nazi sympathisers.
DeleteThe comparison is utter nonsense, without even considering how different life is now and how much we need the ability to import stuff from and travel to and from Europe. Digging up the garden to grow our own veg is not going to keep the car workers in a job or stop European doctors, nurses, care workers, hotel workers, daffodil and vegetable pickers from leaving us in the lurch. A lurch created by those that voted to leave.
I am sick of reading about the brexit whingeing. GB folk brought it on themselves, the problem is all their own bloody fault. If they had fully integrated with the EU none of this shit would have occurred, but no they think themselves to be very special holding to their outdated colonial attitudes. Get real and cop on!
ReplyDeleteI think your points have already been covered, Heron.
DeleteI mean that most of us here on the mainland of Britain are way ahead of you and even more tired, angry and frustrated than you. You should come home and experience it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event.
DeleteSome time back I placed £5 on the UK staying in the EU; I still have reasonable confidence in my wager!
ReplyDeleteOnly £5? Sounds as though you never had much confidence. I wish I had bet on the referendum resulting in a Leave. I would be able to retire even if there is a second referendum.
DeleteI read a lot about it in the newspapers - it is very confusing, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteFor us too.
DeleteIsn't everyone in it for their own ends? I have little idea about any of it but just keep my head down and hope for the best - I can't do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteIt is now a case of survival for those in an unstable situation.
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