Anne's Daily Encounters

By dutchdelight

Helloween Brexit

Back home again and the papers awaited me with this striking cartoon (from HAJO) about the new Brexit date...  at Helloween shrieking voices from Britain!

Two letters to the editors in reaction to the other Brexit article I add here... both express what I think too; no one takes responsibility for the final step to realise Brexit and all know that the best solution for Britain is full membership of EU... and I think for EU their membership it's needed too.
1:
The problem is that everyone knows what the best solution is, namely full EU membership. But everyone also knows that a good part of the British live in a sham world, in which the UK has defeated Napoleon, Emperor Wilhelm II and Hitler all by himself and a grateful Commonwealth has voluntarily granted independence. In that world, the UK is still the great power with, at most, the US next to it. But the fifth - probably the sixth - economy in the world is incomparable with the US, EU (without UK) and China and is being chased by India. It is sad that so many Britons do not see this, but please let them go, preferably with a customs union or join the EFTA and as quickly as possible. The Brexiteers will continue to tramp, but perhaps it will become clear to the majority that there is only one way for the UK, EU membership. They made that discovery as early as the 1970s, when their economy was heading for the abyss and salvaged by membership, but they have clearly forgotten that.
2 :
On refusal of a definitive war with the Brexit back benchers, May refuses to set foot on her notorious 'red lines' and Corbyn runs a high risk of a definitive party break in the event of any immediately greatly enlarged compensation for the Tories. The simple reason is that the dividing line between Brexiters and Remainers runs right through the parties. Old Labor (the north, where they don't want to be fooled again after Thatcher) wants to leave because it feels threatened for the same reasons (immigration!) as everywhere in Europe. The Blairites in London and the South want to stay because they see their privileged positions threatened by a very likely economic downturn associated with a Brexit. With the Tories it is the privileged public school extremists who want to get out. They think they still live in the British Empire and are the boss of the world. For almost 3 years they therefore think that they can prescribe the EU the rules of the Brexit, simply because they are 'Britain'. The problem is, of course, that for the time being neither party dares to take the responsibility for a final final step, just as nobody in the EU dares to give the final push at the moment. Do not count on a nice solution: no deal or a customs union, it means both a split country and two probably bloated parties.

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