After Theresa May's second failure to get Parliament's approval for her Brexit plan, things are in a state of chaos. Jonathan Manthorpe writes:
There will be much sound and fury, posturing and plotting in the House of Commons this week. But when all is said and done, the most likely result is that Britain will opt to ask the EU for more time to try to find a consensus that can get the support of a majority of MPs.
Whether the remaining 27 members of the EU are willing to give Britain extra time is a big question.
If they do, it won’t be much time. There are critical elections for the European Parliament due on May 23, elections in which the EU faces the rising of populist nationalism.
Neo-liberal economists subscribe to the doctrine -- first enunciated by Joseph Schumpeter -- of "Creative Destruction." From the financial meltdown of 2008, to the disastrous Brexit Referendum to the election of Donald Trump -- around the world Chaos has been King.
But what has been left in its wake? International institutions -- and the global order which was rebuilt after the Second World War -- are teetering on the edge of extinction.
This is Destruction -- pure and simple. There is nothing creative about it.
Image: International Liberty
8 comments:
Anybody that is an insomniac of happens to have a couple of puppies like myself and are awake at 6:00 A.M. should tune in to James O'brien
https://www.lbc.co.uk/
I think it was Mound who turned me on to this broadcast. James is covering the chaos leading up to Brexit and asking all the right questions and holding all those accountable to the fire. You can find James O'Brien on U tube as well. Have a listen. We could use a guy like him here.
Thanks for the tip, zoombats. Somebody has to hold the fools -- like Boris Johnson -- to account.
I have a few of those Amazon Echo devices around the house. I use them to tune in to LBC radio London and, yes, I caught O'Brien's show this morning.
Listening to these callers is eye opening. It's like people standing on the edge of a high cliff and looking at the water so far below. They're worried and the strain is unmistakable in their voices. It's visceral. They don't know what Britain they'll be left with in two weeks.
Every now and then you'll hear an MP who points out the obvious - that the Brexit the Leave supporters voted for is not what's on offer today. The Leave voters were not asked to give May the power to negotiate a withdrawal agreement. No one knew what Brexit was and that hasn't changed right up until today.
Farage also has a show on LBC and he still contends the UK holds the whip hand, not the EU. He wants to threaten a major trade war with the EU knowing that it will hurt everybody but he tells his followers Brussels will fold.
It occurs to me, Mound, that insanity is an air borne virus -- and that it's assuming pandemic proportions.
As an exBrit I am saddened and very concerned in seeing the country of my birth self destruct Owen!
It must be painful for you to see what's happening, Rural. The UK used to be a much different country.
I'm listening to the Farage show. Some of the callers are right out of that Monty Python sketch about the guy in the rubber boots, handkerchief on his head, uttering "my brain huuurts." Farage just stirs them up. The guy is a real insurgent. He sees the chaos afoot, whichever way this goes, and he's positioning himself to exploit the aftermath. Despicable as he is, he is an operator.
It looks like the non-binding resolution against a no-deal Brexit will pass. Then, tomorrow, it will be a motion to extend the Article 50 Brexit notice. The hurdle is that even if they do pass it, the EU needs unanimous consent of its member states to accept it. The Euros are skeptical about any delay beyond a couple of months to give the UK the time it needs to prepare for a no-deal Brexit. There's an awful lot to do and Britain isn't remotely prepared.
The Brexiteers thought it would be simple, Mound. The world is just too complex for them.
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