There was this morning an interview with Blair (Reuters) on the referendum. Blair making a plea for a referendum (again) and that the EU should prepare for that referendum (extending Art 50 period).
The EU elections are 23-28 May 2019. The interests for the EU to have a 3 months or so campaigning period not polluted by Brexiteer insults and fantasies, including negatives on immigrants with populistic effects, is obvious there. That means a referendum should take place the end of Februari.
IF... if the UK would have started the procedure for a referendum timely, with the remark that it would only happen if so desired in the road to March 29, and otherwise be cancelled, this precaution would have made a small extension of the Art 50 period noncontroversial. (Cancelling a referendum because of not relevant anymore has happened before, though not in the UK).
But no precaution was taken, politically too hot, as if taking with you in your car a first aid emergency box means that you want an accident to happen.
Blair also mentioned in that interview:
huh.... how do I understand that ?
The EU needs to reform the EU in order to show the UK people that the EU understands their underlying concerns that have led to the UKIP campaign, the Cameron gamble, the Brexit campaign and Brexit ?
That UK people felt unhappy about austerity, also caused by the EU, is something I can understand... but... the Tory UK was itself a champion of austerity in the EU.
That the UK believed that they should jump ship when the EU economy stagnated, that the UK allowed itself to be impressed by cheap anti-immigrant sentiments sparked by some irresponsible populists, amplified by the tabloids, given too much legitimacy by the "quality" newsmedia.... is that something that can be blamed to the EU ?
Is Angela Merkel (as in the UK felt proxy together with Macron for the EU) to be blamed that Germany got 1 million immigrants in 2015 ?
That the EU still sought closer ties with Turkey before Erdogan flipped, that the UK tabloids could threaten the UK people with an invasion of millions of Turkish people ?
The only thing I personally think is that the EU made the governing mistake by not recognising how minority xenophobe most of the new East European members were (a huge cultural gap with the old EU), how easily this could strenghten rightwing populism in old EU countries, and how an overemphasis on economy and makeability of cultural change, clouded political thinking and political managing the cohesion of the peoples in the EU.
Blair should realise that every EU country has its own cross to bear. That the EU is no more than the aggregation of the endeavors of its members. AND that any pro-active constructive endeavors by the EU are targetted at the regions, the countries that need help with investments in knowledge infra and physical infra, to give some perspective on a better future.
The selfish approach of the Tory UK, the belief in a Darwinistic society, is reflected in the enormous power in the Brexit campaign and the Westminster argument from that financial aid to the weaker countries. The 350 Million a week bus leading the way of that selfish argument. And how easy did UK people from left to right fell for that argument. How easy was it for some fringe rightwing Brexiteers to attack the basic Labour value of solidarity. Even to that extent that Corbyn did not have and has not the courage to take publicly a true Labour worthy position against that selfish argument by defending that net 10 billion per year. He is silent about it. He would lose too many voters if he did speak out.
(For the not informed: the overwhelming majority of the EU contributions are not going to Brussel technocrats, but to those cohesion investments. EU admin is approx 7% of the approx 1% GDP EU contribution).
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