Where does one even start making sense of the ramifications that will result after Britain’s decisions to leave the European Union? The repercussions are massive, both for those left in the EU, as well as for the UK.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat sought to allay fears that Malta was exposed to risks now that one of our closest political allies is about to enter uncharted waters in negotiating a way out of the bloc. He said that Malta was well prepared for what has happened and although there might be some sectors that need support, Malta will be just fine.
That may be so. But he also said that it was clear that the EU cannot continue to function in its current model. He said that the EU had become a machine that decides on technicalities while ignoring the bread and butter issues. He pointed to the vote in Wales which was truly mind boggling in its resounding vote to leave and that this was mostly down to the fact that the EU was ignoring its pleas for help to save its failing steel industry.
The Prime Minister is right in that respect. He also said that the UK leaving will result in a hefty counterweight leaving the discussion table, which could potentially lead to the EU becoming much more federalist in its approach to politics, which will now be dominated by France and Germany. The UK will not be leaving the EU anytime soon and the fate of Europeans who live there, Maltese included, will not be affected for at least a two-year period until the mechanism to leave is activated.
The fate of the UK is a very different story. People in Europe, as well as Malta, seem to sometimes forget that the UK is a United Kingdom, it is the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Scotland, the Principality of Wales and Northern Ireland is a province. It is indeed strange to see it all unfold. When the Scots wanted to break away from Great Britain, the UK government urged it to stay in union, arguing that they would be better together. The EU also told Scotland that it would have been a long process to join the bloc as an independent country. Now, the Scottish government, citing the fact that all its regions voted to remain, wants to do all in its power to either stay in the EU or renegotiate entry into the bloc as an independent nation. The irony is palpable.
Northern Ireland, even with all its sectarian splits amid the Troubles, is now calling for a poll on a united Ireland, to reflect its people’s desire to remain in the European Union. Effectively, the United Kingdom looks like it is going to disintegrate and only the lonely men of England and Wales might be the outcasts that remain isolated within a greater EU.
The ire is so great that London’s Mayor Saddiq Khan has reassured European citizens that they are valued and welcome in London. Many others are flooding polling pages calling on London to declare itself an independent city with aspirations to join the EU.
Well and truly, the whole situation can be described as one big political mess. Outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron sealed his own fate all those months ago when he sought to shore up support within his Tory party by promising the referendum. In trying to secure his own personal future, he heaped untold risks on the UK, its people and indeed, the people of Europe. He paid the ultimate price, but what of the 18 to 24 years olds in Britain who wanted to remain in the EU – all 69 % of them. What of their aspirations and dreams and futures? The future generation’s fate was decided by the elderly.
No doubt, whatever eventually unfolds, life will go on... both inside and outside the European Union. The axis of power may have shifted and things will be done differently, but the wheels will keep going round and life will continue. But in a world of shifting power and dominance, with resurgent threats outside of the EU’s borders and inside them, surely, we need to stick together. Granted, the European Union must change. It must, perhaps, listen to its people more than it listens to their leaders. And as Prime Minister Joseph Muscat put it yesterday, things that can be decided in Valletta or Helsinki should be decided in Valletta and Helsinki, not in Brussels. The bloc and its ever bloating and more detached leadership should reflect on this result as it is symptomatic of how many are feeling. Failure to do so will result in a slow unravelling of this unique experiment in democracy.