The final verdict has left the UK and its non-British residents in state of panic. Google
After years of caveats and months
of campaigning the British people voted to leave the European Union. This
represents an unprecedented move in the history of the UK, even though the
relationship between the two has always been difficult.
The expectations were high on
both sides – Remain or Leave - and during the vote's counting Nigel Farage's
UKIP leader has even said the Remain camp had edged it. After all the votes
were assembled, the Leave counted approximately 52% of the electorate's vote
against 48% for the Remain side.
The outcome of the EU referendum came
as a shock for many British – even the ones who voted Brexit. While this may be
ridiculously confusing, we have come to understanding how uninformed the
British people were about the significance of the referendum itself, let alone
the consequences of what a leave vote could bring about. According to Google
Trends, one day after the EU Referendum, the top questions registered in the UK
were “What does it mean to leave the EU?” “What is the EU?” and “Which
countries are in the EU?” This displays an enormous lack of sensitivity to such
an important political decision.
Who voted to Leave?
However, when dissecting the electorate
of this plebiscite, we come to the conclusion that the vote to leave was mainly
supported by the elderly sector of the population. The faction that is not
paying taxes any longer and living off on guaranteed pensions. The majority of
the youth voted to Remain and are now in shock and apprehension towards the
future. Many leave voters have admitted had never believed the UK would
actually leave the EU, others regretted their vote. In the meantime, an online
petition in the UK – with over 3 million signatures - is calling on a new
referendum but constitutional experts consider it very unlikely. Life might
become a bit more bureaucratic for all the EU citizens living in the UK as well
as for British living in the EU.
In any case, both campaigns were
not informative rather a propaganda machine to support the credos of each side.
Even if that implied lying, this was the case of the Leave side, supported by
Nigel Farage. Apparently, one day after the referendum, the £350 million which
used to be sent to the EU and were intended to go to the NHS, was a
"misunderstanding". Probably one of the most captivating arguments of
the Leave campaign was a big and despising lie.
June 23rd was a decisive day for the UK. Google
European Reactions
Overall, it was a sad day for the
European Union. British citizens living in Brussels and elsewhere are
devastated by this outcome. European Commission's and Parliament's presidents
Juncker and Schulz are incredibly irritated with the aftermath of the
referendum, blaming David Cameron of all the troubles he has given them. On the
other hand, Council's president Donald Tusk has been more complacent. Juncker
and Schulz are trying to hastening the divorce between the Union and London
"as soon as possible". Following the press conference in Berlaymont,
Juncker was asked whether this situation means the end of the EU, to what he
promptly replied "No" and was followed by an enormous applause in the
audience.
EU leaders are now pressing for
the UK to call on the article 50 of the Lisbon treaty, founding the legal
principles how a Member State leaves the Union. However, the UK is delaying the
official call on article 50 and Europe is getting anxious and afraid of the
enthusiasm of extremist parties in the EU with the same convictions as UKIP and
Front National.
Indeed, the fear of contagion is
alive. Many discontent countries see this as an opportunity to launch their own
referendums and take some control. Nicola Sturgeon, SNP's leader announced a
very likely referendum over Scotland's independence. French Front National has
already announced that its people have the right to choose their future, just
like the Dutch anti-immigration Party for Freedom or Italy's Northern League.
Recently, Portuguese's Left Bloc also announced the desire of a referendum should
the EU decide to sanction the southern country.
An EU Summit on June 28th
and 29th will gather EU leaders in an effort to smoothly and swiftly
address this huge issue hanging in Brussels.
EU and UK are about to start the divorce process... Google
Media on Brexit
Due to the enormous impact and
consequences of this political decision, Brexit made the front cover of each
newspaper or magazine and every opening of breaking news across the globe. What
has the media been saying?
The Financial Times expectedly focused on the economic and financial
impact of Brexit asking, "What will Brexit mean for the city of
London?" Indeed, the capital of capitalism all of a sudden saw its
currency – the pound – plunging dramatically to a 31 year low as markets reacted
with anxiety and lack of confidence following this unpredictable outcome. Bloomberg delivered a swift analysis on
the immediate winners and losers of Brexit with the title "Brexit's
Winners and Losers: Johnson Triumphs as Pound Plunges". The business media
reported good news on the way to Russia and Front National’s leader Marine Le
Pen, and bad news for the banks and London real estate.
POLITICO accused British voters of “unleashing an economic and
political tsunami” and added that it’s going towards the US, where GOP
candidate to the White House Donald Trump, praised the Brexit’s aftermath. Both
Hillary Clinton – Democrat candidate to the presidency- and incumbent Barack
Obama have sent their pleas overseas calling on the importance of the UK inside
of the European Union. Now, the fear of a massive populist vote on controversial
Donald Trump on the upcoming elections of November is becoming a serious
concern.
The Canadian based Global Research focused on the social
triggers of this political decision taken by the British people writing that
"The UK’s ‘Brexit’ Vote Is Actually a Referendum on Xenophobia". As a
matter of fact, one of the biggest "trumps" used by the Leave
campaign was precisely immigration, terrorism and security – which irrationally
Leave advocates were relating to each other thereby putting them on the same
bag. After Brexit became a reality, it is alarming to witness the xenophobic
behaviour of UK citizens happy with the final verdict. Verbal attacks towards
Polish and Muslim residents in the UK have sprung up and people are getting
scared and uneasy with the repercussions of this referendum.
Foreign Affairs magazine published a few days before the EU
Referendum an article entitled “Please Leave”. On this piece, the author
Camille Pecastaing points out the EU’s shifting role over time turning political
ideals and principles into an economic mission. In the meantime, the arrival of
Margaret Thatcher in the political scene brought neoliberal policies, such as
market deregulation and privatisations, turning London’s approach to the Europe
as an “ever-enlarging free market”. Furthermore, Pecastaing accuses the UK of
never being committed to a project of commonwealth within the EU. “It is that
redistributive logic that makes a commonwealth and that, in Europe, the Greeks
have abused and the British have denied. And this is why Europe would be
better off without them,” wrote the author.
Nevertheless, in each analysis
circulating on the web, the shock felt by the markets as an immediate reaction
of the Brexit effect is always emphasised. Considering the behaviour of the
markets is by nature of extreme unpredictability, it was predictable that
further uncertainty would retract potential investors therefore creating
apprehension in the financial markets. However, analysts defend that the
economic shock felt by Brexit will be moderate in comparison to the 2008 crash
since so far no widespread market freeze or investor panic has occurred. Indeed,
Bloomberg reported that the world's 400 richest people lost €1.27 billion after
Brexit.
Conclusions
Given the Brexit outcome, the UK
must now reorganise its grounds. David Cameron has already announced its
resignation, though by October, and the most likely future PM will be Boris
Johnson. A series of resignations were presented to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn,
who is struggling to keep the party alive and united. The political turmoil
must be replaced by an orderly restructuration of both Conservative and Labour
parties. After stability is settled, focus should be put on the NHS and on the
British social security system. Moreover, the UK must fortify its ties with
future strategic international players and reinforce trade agreements with its
counterparts. When debating a Brexit case scenario, many analysts were
considering several approaches such as the Swiss or the Norwegian model, both
wealthy non-EU countries with trade agreements with the EU and the rest of the
world. Nevertheless, each case is a single case and even if the UK tries a
transition – which might well be successful – the first stages of experiment
and implementation will be harsh.
