Last Thursday seventy-two percent of the UK’s population turned up to vote and just over half of them voted to leave the European Union. Days later, a petition supported by more than three million signatures called for the government to annul the decision. In other words, they want their money back.
In 1971 Gerry Rafferty released a song with the lyrics, Can I have my money back, money back, money back? Can I have my money back please sir? The disgruntled Scot wrote the song after dealing with corporate setbacks to his productivity and many Brits believe Europe is doing the same.
Google released data on search trends in the days after the vote with the one basic question topping the list, “What is the EU?” The British had some time to think about their place in Europe since joining in 1973 and had a prior warning from the Foreign Minister, Phillip Hammond of the series Yes Minister. Hammond pointed out that Britain had the same policy objective for at least five-hundred years—pit one country against the next and divide and rule. Britain couldn’t break the whole thing up from the outside, but once in, “Could make a complete pig’s breakfast of the whole thing.” So far, Britain is doing that nicely.
But before dismissing the Brits as a daft and barmy lot and paraphrasing the Noel Coward song, Only mad dogs and Englishmen vote in referendums, there may be sound reasoning for the decision to opt out. Former chairmen of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan said in an interview with “Squawk on the Street” that the stock market reaction to the ‘leave’ vote could be the tip of the iceberg. Greenspan said the “euro currency is the immediate problem.” He went on to explain that the southern part of the Euro zone is being funded by the northern part and the European Central Bank. European political integration is failing.
If that is the case, and five-hundred years of foreign policy cannot be overturned in the scant years since Rafferty released his song, then the Brits who voted ‘leave’ may well be pointing out that the Emperor ain’t got no clothes.
As for those Brits who want the vote overturned, well, they were never going to get their money back—it all went on the Euro sausage.
ajhenryblog 