Exit from #Brexit

I will make myself unpopular with some for sure, but I’m actually one of the rare „Remainers“ that is actually not for a second referendum.

I know that people have been lied to big time and some probably might vote differently this time, after being informed at least a little bit more balanced (but still, not much). Indeed, this is a argument for a second referendum, but unfortunately not a strong one. People are lied to in pretty much every vote, referendum or election and it’s nothing that should be new to anybody who sees him or herself as a modern democrat. Fool me once, shame on you… you know how it goes.

It might sound harsh, but for me, letting votes count is just the fundamental basis of democracy. Making a precedent to let people vote over and over again is a dangerous one. It’s dangerous in terms of abuse of power one the one hand, because who assures you, that the „executive elite“ does accept a referendum in that case? They might be able to re-vote as long as they want just to get their wish. And on the other hand, it’s the best argument for the „people“ to never take care what they vote for. Because: Why should you, if you could always ask for a new referendum or vote because you’ve been fooled or badly informed?

In my country, people claimed they didn’t know how bad Hitler was when they voted him into power. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not drawing any similarities about the topic here. But for very good reasons, that argument didn’t count back then and it shouldn’t count nowadays. Voting is a highly fragile and important process that nobody should take lightly because you think you could always „reverse“ it. If the people in Britain did, than it’s a shame. In short: Being uninformed and still voting and believing in demagogues is not an excuse, sadly. It’s a requirement in democracy. Otherwise we will just lose it.

Besides that, I’m not even sure how a second referendum would turn out. There’s no reason to believe it would turn out much differently. And if it doesn’t, the way is free for the hardest Brexit ever with very little chance to ever come back to the EU in the future. That’s a gamble I would never take. Haven’t we learned enough about referendums that go this far already? Just stop playing with fire any longer. Unfortunately, I’m of the impression that a lot of the people who fight for the second referendum take their hopes from forecasts out of their own echo chambers, which just is a very bad idea. While I might be complete wrong as anybody here, I just urge everybody to remember how Brexit happened and that polls are worth nothing in this emotional times. I suggest to not use this as your basis for your social actions against Brexit.

Anyway, these two arguments -the democratic and the odds at stake- are not too strong ones either. Probably, at the end, it’s just the pragmatic one: Even if a second referendum would win, what would it change? Of course, it would change a lot for the Europeans living in Great Britain right now fearing for their rights of residence. But would it bring the country back on track? I highly doubt it, because the damage had been done. The country has already moved to the right, the population is divided, the European Union is rather pissed, most European countries are pissed, and the foreigners living in the UK have been hurt deeply and the climate has changed, with still a lot of Brexiteers now awaiting a Brexit and continue fighting for it. They, for sure, will not suddenly be gone just when Great Britain decides to  stay in the European Union. It’s actually even more likely, that this will bring the country into the next huge crisis. And even if a second referendum will be a large majority vote for Remain, you can count on many voices that will call this „even“ at best. What should we do then? A third referendum for winning the toss? The country will be more hurt if this goes on for much longer. I’m baffled how much breath the Brits have to go through all this anyway.

In my eyes, this is not about winning and losing anymore. Everybody has lost already. It was done by some really, really stupid ideas. (Voting for such a big thing with a bare majority and not at least 2/3? Which democrat came up with such shit?). It should be about fighting for stability first. And above all, for certainties and reliable information for everybody who lives in Great Britain. People need to be able to prepare and so hard it sounds, I would suggest to not put all your energy not into the chance for a second referendum, but into demanding these certainties now. And, above all, finally face a Brexit and lay out your strategies with it coming in mind for the long and not the short term.

I know this means giving up the last straw for a lot of Remainers, especially after the last clarifications by the European Court. But it also means preparing instead of idling in a limbo state like everybody is now – including the current government. As a European, it also means focusing on fighting to get Great Britain back into Europe after Brexit. I know this will be a much longer and more complex fight than just demonstrating for an exit from Brexit. But despite this, I feel that re-entering the European Union, quite possibly after a long period of realization, with new generations arriving and old prejudices fading away, is not out of the question at all. But first and foremost, the country needs to think about itself, its understanding of the EU and change, if you want this to happen.

I have often said I never understood, why the Brits are in the European Union at the first place. They have not been in Schengen. They kept their currency. They just had the best deal in the EU anyhow! And still, their appearances in the European Parliament have often been just terrible. Whenever I talked to people from the foreign ministry they unfortunately had no good things to say (and have probably been the least surprised by Brexit). According to them, it was always about „the island“ against „the continent“. While I’m not too sure, if it’s really that terrible, I realized how often British MPs say something like „they over in Europe“. Weird! You actually are (at least still) Europeans, just like us, Great Britain!

But it’s true: Even travelling and immigrating to Great Britain feels like travelling to another continent. This just never has felt like Europe to me, as well. When I talked to Brits about the EU, the most important aspects they talked about me have been financial issues, trade, migration and regulations. I’m not sure, but it somehow felt more like an anglo-american approach of seeing the Union as a deal agreement apparatus. While for me as a German and Continental-European, the most important aspect of the European Union is its idea of solidarity and peace – which is more or less the opposite: In my eyes, you can’t have a European Union if you see it as a capitalist competition of countries first and solidarity second, where everybody just wants to have the biggest share with the help of negotiations and deals. I know this is my personal, probably selfish view of the project, but really: As long as you haven’t understood this, then you just shouldn’t join.

And the more I watch the Brexit tragedy unfold, the more I realize that this country first needs to find back to itself again before anything else. It hurts a lot, because it’s a huge injustice against a lot of people who have no blame for Brexit and are still influenced very badly. And it hurts because I really love that country and that people. But after all what has been said and done, I just can’t imagine to just go back to how all was before. But who am I to judge? I might sound arrogant, blatant, disrespectful or cocky with this – but be assured, that I will gladly take the mockery when I’m hopefully proven wrong!