67
Angela Merkel ‘tormented’ by Brexit vote and saw it as ‘humiliation’ for EU
(www.theguardian.com)
More of a humiliation for the UK.
this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2024
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They were a part of the EU. We humiliated ourselves, as a part of us left. They are our brothers and sisters, we should grow together, not splitter apart.
Second hand humiliation then
If you're Merkel whose political life was largely about building alliances and finding middle ground, then yeah, I totally understand.
Notably, while Brexit was obviously a footgun, it also hurt the EU overall, not just in GDP but also in political power and attractiveness.
It should've been a wake up call how powerful bullshit propaganda and blatant lies are, and how little many people care about facts, or just how gullible they are, when feeding into their hopes and dreams and frustrations.
Our democracies have never faced a bigger threat. Thanks to the advert industry, evil actors can precisely target persons with the exact lies that are likely to work on them to achieve the desired results.
It's worked for brexit, it's worked for installing a traitor and criminal as the US head of state, and it will soon work for a corrupt extremist in Romania.
Neonazis like FN/RN and AfD rising in Europe is not a coincidence. It's the result of a decade or more of work of dictatorial enemies.
I don't really view it as a humiliation. I'm slightly more surprised UK joined than I am surprised UK left, given their stature on the world stage throughout the past handful of centuries. A country doesn't give up much culture or autonomy or individuality by joining but it's enough that I'd figure UK wouldn't wanna move in that direction in the first place