A Tale of Two Brexits: Urgent Thoughts from the Cliff Edge (original) (raw)

At the time of writing this piece in mid November 2018, nobody knows the outcome of the current crisis within the UK and the EU. However, the British inconvenience cannot be 'tidied up' and forgotten about. It is symptomatic of a EU wide malaise. On this occasion the continental troublemaker is Britain, but the name in the frame could easily have been, and may soon be, either Germany with its rising Alternative für Deutschland or France with the ambitious Marine Le Pen. These are all symptoms of the intense Europe-wide discomfort at the continent being displaced from the global seat of majesty it enjoyed during the nineteenth century. Everyone should think again before it is too late. Key words: European Union, Brexit, Yalta, Potsdam, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Alternative für Deutschland, Marine Le Pen, populism, Suez, Italy, Benelux, referendum, Conservative party, Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, Theresa May, Singapore, Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, City of London, Turkey, Caribbean, Algeria, Soviet Bloc, Yugoslavia.