Tomorrow as the rooster crows Brits the world over will wake up without the intrinsic rights EU membership offers. Sitting here in Portugal with my multiple citizenships I am in a unique position to reflect on what this means for me, for us, for them and ultimately what the consequences will be for all.
Pragmatically, I have to admit a certain bias towards feelings of Schadenfreude, after so many years of vitriol and partisan drivel from little Englanders, we (Europeans), will finally be in a position where we can happily move on with our union without the incessant heckling from professional pissants like Farage and his ilk.
For me, it’s a tough position to be in culturally as I have multiple citizenships including British and whilst as a youth I tread the balance of identity like an acrobat on a tightrope, I have to admit that as the years go on I do feel more British than French. I am not sure what prompted this shift but thankfully I can bask in Europeanism as a cultural bedrock so as to not be forced to confront my own feelings on the matter.
Avoidance of the subject it appears will end up in a twisted form of hubris with debatable consequences, much like my reluctance to scrutinise my own ethnic roots as a mixed-race individual.
Broadly speaking, I do think there is something measurably comfortable in being European, I rarely feel the need for political vindication due to a having an indifferent response to the ebbs and flows of British (and French) power and influence over Europe. Its so easy to become lost in petty partisan rhetoric to the extent that I am relieved I can delude myself into thinking I am simply not part of this and instead watch on with amusement.
Anyway, enough drivel from me and lets get to the point(s).
I won’t lose anything from Brexit, infact I wager I will gain by direct comparison. I have French nationality so my EU rights are and always will be preserved (save a Frexit), and I am registered in Portugal as Non-Dom for a while now, which is to say I am in a very comfortable position to sit back and enjoy the show.
The little island will no longer be able to blame the EU for its political paralysis and lack of social mobility. A reckoning will undoubtedly occur once people understand that big stick diplomacy only works when you actually have a big stick. Can’t wait for the trade negotiations- I am stockpiling popcorn in preparation!
I hope one day Britain will rejoin the EU as a full member, with Euro and Schengen membership but sadly the younger generation rarely vote (as has been proven time and time again) yet will whine (or tweet) incessantly about democracy. I have always voted in all elections, with postal ballots and proxy votes there are zero excuses and ultimately whilst the media and ignorance have their share of the blame to accept for this debacle, the millennials are ultimately the ones who dropped the soap.
I doubt self-reflection is going to be a theme in this insta-age but I can’t help but curl my lips in disgust over the twitterverse fury concerning Brexit when the individuals who will suffer the most, did not see fit to go out and vote.
I shan’t harp on about the economic consequences or bilateral issues that will crop up (open skies, data etc.) because this is EliseandThomas.com, not Questionable Margins but I expect with the dust having settled, that I will be spitefully spewing my opinions here onwards. Maybe.
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