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DFW

(57,067 posts)
2. Rather than "Let's just get it over with"
Tue Sep 3, 2019, 07:15 AM
Sep 2019

The sensible thing to do-and, I suspect, the preference of a majority of Britons--would be instead, "Let's just call the whole thing off."

Like Trump, Boris Johnson knows full well that he was not the choice of his country's people to lead them. Like Moscow Mitch McConnell, he also knows that he needs to resort to parliamentary tricks to prevent votes from being taken. Sort of a tactic akin to "I'm going to do as much damage as I can and please my paymasters before I get dragged out of here by my heels."

In terms of bureaucratic nightmares, the UK is in for a nasty shock exponentially higher than 90% of them imagine, and I think they are already imagining plenty. There are untold thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, of Britons living all over the EU, legally and visa-free, as is their right under EU rules. They have billions of Euros/Pounds invested in their residences all over Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the EU. Suddenly, EVERY ONE OF THEM will now have to apply for a residence permit, and get with their accountants about avoiding double taxation. The same goes for all EU citizens living and working in the UK. Immigration authorities everywhere will be completely swamped.

Common sense would dictate that the UK use the "get-out-of-jail-free" card accorded to them by the EU high court. I.e. the court issued a ruling saying that that UK would suffer no penalties if they decided to call Brexit off. But common sense has never been a major commodity in politics of late. The last hurrah was when Germany returned Angela Merkel to a fourth term as Chancellor, and France rejected extremes of both left and right with Macron. Macron has shown little imagination in getting out from under the weight of his twin antagonist parties, and Merkel was sabotaged by the logical coalition partner (the FDP) when they pulled out of the negotiations, citing illogical (and therefore probably corrupt) concerns for the fossil fuel industry. The other coalition partner, the Greens, sensibly said the issue was not negotiable, and that coal was not an option for the future, something Merkel has adhered to, even without them as partners.

Has the UK realized too late how badly they shot themselves in the foot by letting Johnson become PM without much more than a whimper (NOW they're whimpering, of course)? Whether or not that is the case, Vladimir, er, I mean, Boris, seems to have learned quickly from Trump. "Who the hell cares what the people want, who the hell cares what is best for the country? It's my show now."

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I can't understand why the UK is doing this Brexit thing, seems like a total loser to me. katmondoo Sep 2019 #1
Common sense has little to do with it, and the EU is partly to blame. DFW Sep 2019 #4
Brexit was sold to the Brits based on lies and fear RVN VET71 Sep 2019 #11
Same thing that's happening in the U.S. Grokenstein Sep 2019 #7
A number of reasons The King of Prussia Sep 2019 #8
Rather than "Let's just get it over with" DFW Sep 2019 #2
Of course it's ripping up the UK. That's what Putin wanted when he funded the campaign. DemocracyMouse Sep 2019 #3
...and did I mention PUTIN and his MOB are going for our 2020 elections too? DemocracyMouse Sep 2019 #5
Rifts in the EU and NATO definitely serve Russian interests more than any of ours. n/t DFW Sep 2019 #6
It's interesting that non-UK-based DU members always jump so quickly to blame "PUTIN!!!". Denzil_DC Sep 2019 #10
You are missing the essence. ALL MOBS, indeed all monopolies, are killing democracy. DemocracyMouse Sep 2019 #12
I don't believe I'm missing anything. Denzil_DC Sep 2019 #14
I don't necessarily blame Putin as a main cause, just a big beneficiary DFW Sep 2019 #15
He could be a beneficiary. But the EU was expected to implode with Brexit. It hasn't. Denzil_DC Sep 2019 #16
You really think it was Putin? The King of Prussia Sep 2019 #17
I'm sorry you feel that way... DemocracyMouse Sep 2019 #18
They're free to disagree. It's still not persuasive. Denzil_DC Sep 2019 #19
Time to reclassify 'Lord of the Flies' as a dystopian prediction? muriel_volestrangler Sep 2019 #9
It's not the people spreading chaos. ALL MOBS, indeed all monopolies, are killing democracy. DemocracyMouse Sep 2019 #13
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