History Repeats itself - Brexit from a German Point of View

Walking to one of the sessions during Parliament Week 2015

Exactly a year ago during Parliament Week I went into the Houses of Parliament a couple of times in order to listen to debates and lectures and hearings. It was fascinating to see how Parliament works and I felt being part of it. My highlight was when the guard at the door said something like "Ah yes, you've been here before, you know your way already" and he let me in. I, back then, decided to finally get my citizenship done and become a Brit; I wanted to take part. And if I hadn't got my current job in Frankfurt a few weeks later (a project which lasts for a year and for which I have to fly out weekly) I'm sure I'd have gone all the way and be an owner of two passports. 

Having a full day!

But things have changed, changed dramatically within only one year. It happened all so quickly that sometimes I am simply wondering what's going on and whether this is only a dream I am finding myself in. This was especially the case around the Brexit vote where something major happened every day - vote got lost, Cameron leaves, Farage goes, the "bus lie" was made apparent, Tory backstabbing around Johnson and Gove, election of Tory party leader and new PM, 3 clowns as ministers, etc. Every day was a rollercoaster day of emotions and political surprises, if not turmoil. 

Now it's nearly November but all of this doesn't seem to stop. "Brexit means Brexit" is still haunting me and it will haunt me and at least 48% of the vote for quite a while. Sometimes, I am simply speechless, sometimes I am extremely angry, and sometimes I feel sad. These carousel of emotions is a daily thing now.

My passion for the UK started in 1994/95 during an Erasmus exchange year where I studied Business Administration at the University of Bath. This year changed my life completely. I loved everything British and I was fascinated about literally everything. I seemed to absorb Britishness like a sponge. In 1997, at the start of my first job after university I decided to move back to the UK. I chose London and only wanted to stay for a year or two; I never really left again. 

Within those 2 decades of UK I have pretty much assimilated to country and culture; I volunteered as Special Constable for the Metropolitan Police, I turned Anglican and joined the Church of England, and I did all sorts of other things. And then Brexit came along. It should change everything, everything I have believed in so far, and it hit me like a hurricane. I am trying to get my head around what's going on and still, sometimes I sit here in complete disbelief. 


The new Banana Monarchy

The UK turned out to be a banana republic. I cannot believe that all of this could have happened. Cameron instigated a referendum for sheer party political reasons, it suddenly turned out to be an advisory referendum which was never made clear from the start (which in the end might be our saving grace), no thresholds were set (such as in every "normal" country where one needs certain percentages to draw conclusions from referendums; such as a qualified 2/3 or even 3/4 majority, not just a simple majority of who passes the pole); now suddenly all we hear is "The majority of the British People have spoken". Did they? 51,9% of the cast vote is "the majority" for such a life changing issue? And where on earth is the principle of the UK being a union to be seen? England alone can always overturn all the other states. It is a hegemony we are living in, a hegemony of the English over the Scots, Welsh, Northern Irish and the people of Gibraltar. Is it just me or does this stink of injustice to others too? But then, Nicola Sturgeon is already on stage preparing for her own referendum and the Northern Irish are taking the case to the courts. 

What I found extremely astonishing was the answer to "who could vote"? Brits, Commonwealth citizens and Irish living in the UK, also Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar. This means EU citizens like me were not allowed, but Cypriots and Maltese were, also the Irish. Basically, in a referendum about the EU, Commonwealth citizens could vote but EU nationals could not. My sense for justice and equality is just about to go overboard. I've been living here for about 20 years, integrated into the British society and have no say in this life changing matter!  

Right after the referendum we all had hopes that Parliament would get a vote over this knowing that both houses have a "remain" majority. But no, suddenly the government decided this is not possible and put this referendum result under the "royal prerogative". Sorry what? A non-binding referendum with a very tight outcome for "Leave" is suddenly subsumed under the royal prerogative? It feels like having signed a contract without reading any of the small-print. 

These days the government admitted that Parliament will get some form of vote, and one reads that the pro-Remain House of Lords better complies with the government otherwise they will be over-flooded with Leave peers and "undergo reform". For me this is blackmail. It is not mafia style blackmail where things happen in the background, no, it is worse, it is made public and one can read about it in the press! North Korea wouldn't do it any differently, it feels!

I also ask myself where are the Queen and her family in this discussion. We all know she has absolutely no power whatsoever. She has the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn; all very harmless stuff. But there is also something in the non-written constitution that the monarch can step in in times of emergency. There are a few powers she has left, like not granting royal assent (done last time by Queen Anne), but the simplest ones are presenting herself in public or sending off Prince Charles to do all the talking. There is lots of stuff the monarchy can unofficially do. I am simply astonished that nothing happens from that side. Funny enough I was amazed that she did not do anything during the Scottish referendum either. So must we conclude that she does not care that the very existence of the UK is at risk? I know this is a bit going off the tangent, but I firmly believe that any ceremonial head of state should have some powers of control that political proceedings are within the law and reason. For example, I know the German President sometimes refuses to sign laws and calls the courts whether certain laws are within the framework of the constitution. For me this is vital for any head of state. 


Theodor Fontane's Summer in London

Theodor Fontane, a pretty famous German poet and personally one of my favourites, wrote a book in 1854 called "Summer in London". I love this book as it describes life in the capital seeing it from a "German point of view". I read it many years ago and a few things got stuck in my mind - London has always been a multicultural hotspot, traffic has forever been a nightmare, prices were highly above normal, AND the English have a tendency to cherry picking and looking at their own (monetary) advantage first, coming close to greed. Fontane was appalled about the lack of passion and ideals; he described English businessmen with a sheer focus on the bottom line, being short sighted and unable to think strategically and long-term. I never understood this, but within the years and particularly now I must conclude Fontane was probably right.

Remember Margaret Thatcher's "I want my money back!"? And the British rebate was born. And then all the other British "Sonderwürste" throughout the decades, those exceptions for the British when it comes to the EU. This is now climaxing in leaving the union altogether but keeping access to the single market. What's astonishing is the shamelessness of their request and the expectation to access the single market without contributing to it. 

It's time the English stop with their "Rule Britannia mentality" and undergo a reality check. Back when the UK was admitted to the then EC, this country was the sick man of Europe. And now it seems they got their imperial attitude back, without having any Empire in the background. The Commonwealth, some might argue, especially when it comes to trade deals, is still there, but seriously? One would want to compare the Queen's play thing consisting of Third World countries and a few Caribbean islands to the EU, the world's biggest single market? 

As I am writing this article, a window suddenly popped up with the following news: Both, The Independent and The Guardian report about banks moving their headquarters away from London to either Frankfurt, Paris or possibly Vienna, putting 70,000 jobs at risk, by early next year. I'm wondering if this will be a wake-up call for this government, but I guess probably not. Back to my article.


Vive l'Europe! 

After WW2 it was Winston Churchill, de Gaulle, Adenauer and probably every single European who never ever wanted this atrocity of a war again on European grounds. And so that what is now the EU started slowly to exist and develop. I am a fervent European and I am so very happy to be able to live here on this continent. Seeing the EU going down this path currently makes my heart bleed. I have always felt so lucky that I belong to one of the generations that does not have to endure war and in fact go to war as a soldier. And I think we nowadays take peace and wealth far too much for granted. 

Europe gives us 4 freedoms, one of which is the freedom of movement. We can work and live wherever we want. And isn't it just perfect? I moved to the UK, and many of my British friends spend most of their summer holidays and major parts of the year in their homes in France and Spain and elsewhere. One of them moved to Frankfurt, others elsewhere. For me this is freedom. We are all one big European family where war with ourselves is no longer prevalent. 

But we need to fight for it daily, not just you and I, but also our national and regional governments and especially the EU government. The EU is by far not perfect, but it's good enough to maintain peace and wealth for all of us. We should rather than withdrawing from this institution, change it, make it better, in fact, make it close to perfect. And especially Britain as one of the big countries should lead this union and not just leave. This for me is the most disappointing thing. They don't fight for a better Europe, they just go (and still want to enjoy all the benefits). 

I am so sick and tired of this phrase about the EU being undemocratic and that the UK want her powers back. First, can't we all go and vote for the European Parliament? Don't we send our own governments to Brussels to represent us? For me this is democratic enough. If one doesn't want a United States of Europe, then I am not sure how more democratic one should set up this union.

Throughout this whole referendum campaign I only heard cost-benefit analyses, mainly in monetary terms. 350 million here and there, and all sorts of numbers were thrown around the table. Nobody from the Remain group ever started to dream the dream about Europe, to have a vision what it will be to be one Europe in the next century maybe. And when looking at the world map it is pretty clear we need to move closer to one another on our continent and prepare for the times to come. This will not and cannot ever be a way backwards to national states. The 19th century is over and the 20th century with all its atrocities of war and racism is thankfully over, too.


The ugly Face of Racism

When looking at what's happening right now with growing figures of racism, I feel very alarmed that the UK will go down the "Germany of the 1930ies" route and we must do all we can do to stop this from happening. When Hitler won the first elections to the Reichstag he didn't say he wanted to kill 6 million Jews, and he didn't reveal any of his plans to take over the world. I don't say the Tories are like the Nazis, but I see similarities in their approach - scapegoating (back then the Jews, nowadays immigrants), putting the nation state first (back then everything happened in the name of the German people, nowadays I hear the term "the British people" far too often), promising independence and control (back then the shackles from WW1, nowadays Brussels' beaurocrats), the government gathering intelligence over companies that employ foreigners (back then Jews), and the list goes on. The only thing I am waiting for is that us Europeans have to visibly wear a badge with the EU flag on it as opposed to the yellow star of David the Nazis imposed.

Racism is rising, the UK has turned into an international laughing stock (whereas I'd rather cry than laugh), our society is split in two, remainers and brexiters, and I think the situation is pretty severe. I'm worried about so many things, I spend many nights awake and keep on pondering about our future; and the fact that Theresa May doesn't seem to get it freaks me out. She is like a loose canon. Initially, I thought what a wonderful idea to put those 3 clowns in charge. As soon as they fail she will revert and re-join the remain camp (where she pre-referendum belonged to), but after last week's Tory conference I am afraid to say, I think she totally lost it. She now reminds me of Magda Goebbels who poisoned her own children before the Third Reich went down the drain. 

Today, I went to a wonderful lunch party where I was one of the few foreigners. Being surrounded by my British friends helped me to get over this feeling that I am not wanted in this country anymore. I am not sure if any Leave-Brit does understand that feeling that one isn't part of the gang and unwanted. It's a bad one. But then, they don't care and want us out. What feels terrible, in all those 20 years I never claimed benefits and I simply paid taxes, year in and year out and contributed to our society. And suddenly I am unwanted and part of a political gambling session where the government tries to play poker with the EU as to whether we can stay or not. 

So, back to my initial comment about dual citizenship, I must say, first time in many, many years I don't actually want a British passport. I want to be part of something bigger, something better, something kinder, and being a little Englander is something I don't really aspire to become. I won't leave this country though, unless I am actually being deported. I have been here half of my life, I invested so much, and I will do whatever it takes to help to get this country back to normal. Fingers crossed! 

PS: There is one positive thing I get out of this current situation; finally the EU and British membership is publicly being discussed. And in case we will stay in the EU, this underlying negativity should hopefully be over and dealt with. This public discussion was needed long time ago.