united Kingdom – What Now?

He did it. He won by a landslide. The papers are full of analysis and predictions. What will he be like, now that he’s got that all-enabling majority? Where is Britain going? What about Scotland? Ireland? united Kingdom?

In all of this, we should not forget the underlying facts: Britain is where it is because of a nationalist and xenophobic drive, led by Nigel Farage and his enablers, succumbed to by a weak Tory Prime Minister, David Cameron, who produced a half-baked referendum, followed by Theresa May and a Tory party, the deceitful message of which it was that 51.5% of the vote reflects “the will of the people”, a notion that turned into a mantra of the political class. All this was nurtured by a Brexit pushing populist press. Then there is the interesting question of foreign meddling (Putin?) and the personal interest and whims of a few mega-rich individuals who finance such campaigns.

The deed is done. Will it be good for Britain? Nationalism and Xenophobia are bad. Full stop. They go hand-in-hand with racism and antisemitism. And they have all been given a free run. From this point of view, the whole process has been extremely bad for Britain.

Will it be good for Britain’s economy, for people’s standard of living, for the quality of their lives? I think not. Time will tell.

What is it be: Leave the country? Build a bunker and store food and medicine? Pray? Meditate? It’s the time of the year and it will probably just end up with drink and be merry.

Britain – A Democracy?

What’s a democracy? The developments in Britain raise the question whether Britain should be considered a democracy.

Britain – a democracy?  I

The United Kingdom has 650 parliamentary constituencies and the candidate with most votes in a constituency becomes its member of parliament. All other votes get thrown in the bin. These voters are represented by someone, whose agenda they do not share.  For example, with party A getting 29%, party B 28%, party C 27% and various small parties the remaining 16% – party A’s candidate would get into parliament. In that constituency, a minority of 29% gets 100% parliamentary representation. Theoretically, this pattern could take place throughout the country. And 29% of the population would get 100% of all MPs.

This system has, for many years, produced stable parliamentary majorities, which in turn, enabled many governments to run the country, without having to constantly compromise with coalition partners.

Is it truly democratic?

Britain – a democracy? II

British politicians working to deliver Brexit, constantly argue that “the People” have voted for Brexit and therefore, the only democratic thing to do, was to deliver Brexit. That, of course, is misleading: The vote was 48.5 vs. 51.5, which means that virtually half of all those who voted, are Remainers. Would the result of 50% minus one vote for Brexit vs. 50% plus one vote against Brexit, have meant the country has decided against Brexit? No. In both cases, it shows that “the People” are divided.

But even that 50/50 result was only achieved with the help of a campaign permeated by lies and deceit. Lies are common in politics but let us not delude ourselves that this is democratic.

David Cameron and his government failed to prepare the Brexit referendum and clarify the ramifications of a Brexit outcome. Moreover, they said that the referendum would be only consultative, whereas, it is now presented as binding. The British political class seems to treat the whole process like a game of poker – you win some, you lose some. Only, if it is but a game of cards, how exactly should one reshuffle the cards, once Britain has left the EU?  

The United Kingdom has a government acting irrevocably, on the basis of a badly prepared referendum, a campaign saturated with false information and an undecided and torn electorate – a democracy?

Britain – a democracy? III

Britain’s High Court has ruled that Boris Johnson acted lawfully, when he got the Queen to shut down parliament for a few weeks.

Britain’s unelected prime minister – who was put into Downing Street, after Theresa May’s resignation, by 92,000 members of the Conservative Party in an internal vote of party members only – has gotten the unelected Queen to close the elected parliament of the country.

It might all be lawful, but democratic?

Britain’s so-called democracy

So, 92,000 out 140,000 members of the British Conservative   Party (Tories) had an internal election and chose Boris Johnson as their party’s leader. It is bad enough that these absurd creatures populating the Tory party have chosen a liar and philanderer as their leader. But in what Britain considers to be a democracy, the choice of the 92,000 becomes the prime minister of us all.

A curious notion of democracy. Had the Queen been asked to make the nomination, it would have been just as democratic, but probably much better thought-through.

Very democratically, Johnson will force Brexit on a country, which is totally divided on this issue. And very democratically, the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, has neglected his main duty and has prevented his party from fulfilling its role and acting as an opposition. He himself is a Brexit supporter and because of that, half of the country’s population had no voice in parliament, in this critical time in the country’s history. Had that man had any decency and honesty, he would have explained that as a Brexit supporter, he is unable to do his job and resigned from his leadership of the Labour Party. That would have enabled a Brexit opponent to lead the opposition. Shame on him. This off-putting man is one of the Conservative Party’s main assets.

Schadenfreude

The German term Schadenfreude is also in use in English. I confess to succumbing to this base instinct with regard to the price, which many Brits will pay for their stupid, arrogant, anti-foreign, decision to leave the EU. Because of the falling Pound, all those Brits who, each year, go for their two-week beach holiday in Spain, Portugal or Greece – will pay more for this summer’s holiday. Serves them right. The rate was €1.40 per Pound in 2015, €1.28 on Referendum Day in 2016 and is now €1.12. Moreover, once the UK is out of the EU, British mobile phones will no longer benefit from roaming charge free use of their phones.  

Many will not be able to afford holidays at all, as already many jobs have been lost, due to companies and European organisations leaving Britain. Instead, the lower classes can watch the mega rich, who funded the deceitful Brexit campaign, get richer. Farage and Johnson, the leaders of the Brexit push, actually personally benefit. Last year alone, Farage earned £400,000 from media appearances. And Boris Johnson, is being paid £275,000 per annum for writing a weekly column in the British Daily Telegraph. The billionaire offshore Barclay brothers, who own the Telegraph, will have their reasons for paying this rather high rate for Johnson’s musings. The question must be asked, what is Johnson really being paid for?

Opportunism: Short term vs. Very Short term

It was reported today that British Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has criticised China in fairly strong language about the situation in Hong-Kong. The Chinese are really angry, and their ambassador told Hunt to keep out of Chinese domestic affairs: “Hands off Hong Kong and show respect. This colonial mindset is still haunting the minds of some officials or politicians”.

Now, I am all for strong protests about Chinese conduct. But why has Hunt chosen to come out so forcefully, when British track-record with regard to Chinese human-rights violations is normally most pragmatic? Britain (like most other countries) put their trade relations with China before the human rights of the Chinese oppressed.

Hunt is one of the two contenders (the other being Boris Johnson) to become Theresa May’s successor, as Tory prime-minister. Voting takes place in two days. My guess would be that Hunt’s opportunism puts his immediate interest before the country’s interest – which is also opportunistic – to let China do what it likes, as long as it signs a trade agreement with post-Brexit Britain.

Britain – A Failed Democracy ?

Misleading information, outright lies, and a badly constructed referendum have resulted in half of the participants voting for Brexit. (51.5% vs. 48.5%)

Prime Minister Cameron, who opposed Brexit, yet called the referendum, resigned immediately after the result came out.  Ambitious Theresa May, who also opposed Brexit, saw an opportunity to become prime-minister and joined the remain side. The opposition Labour party is led by Trotskyite Jeremy Corbyn, who is himself a Brexiter. So, both main parties in the UK are led by Brexit supporters.

Hence, on the most contentious issue in British politics for many years, the government has no opposition. That half (or by now perhaps more) of Britain’s population, who prefer remaining in the EU, have no one speaking for them in Parliament.

The whole process of Brexit – despite the seemingingly democratic instrument of a referendum – has turned out to be a grand failure of democracy.

Britain’s Labour Party and Antisemitism

Anyone who is interested in what is happening in Britain’s Labour Party Antisemitism row, should read Professor David Feldman’s splendid analysis in Thursday’s Haaretz.

Bed and Breakfast at Buck House

Last week, that pathetic woman ran to Washington to hail Trump and, in her panic, offered him bed and breakfast at Buckingham Palace: One P (this time P stands for palace) he has not yet grabbed. In return, Trump supports Britain’s efforts to break up the EU.

The Queen has – I believe – no say on who gets invited to Buck House. She could – of course – have to wash her hair on the night of Trump’s stay.

The Johnson Suicide

It has very quickly become apparent – not only to the remain camp – that the leaders of the leave campaign have irresponsibly misled and lied and thereby led the country in a downward spiral to a frightening unknown.

The unexpected outcome of the Brexit referendum has opened an interesting discussion about how to avoid following the wish of the majority (albeit a slim one) as it was expressed on 23 June. The referendum would not have taken place at all, had we had a responsible adult in Great Britain and more than anything else this is what we are lacking now: a charismatic politician to responsibly lead the country out of this mess. A Churchill or De Gaulle would have been right for the occasion.

Some have suggested calling a general election, but the parties need a trigger to clarify clearly what their positions on Europe are. And here’s my suggestion:

Going out with a bang would establish Boris Johnson forever as a truly tragic hero. Books, plays, even operas would be written about him, were he to commit suicide. 

He would need to leave a suicide note addressed to his followers, explaining that the whole Brexit idea was a terrible mistake, his miscalculated bravado, for which he apologises to the British people. He would add a suggestion that Parliament be dissolved and new elections be called, in which the competing parties would clarify whether they are IN or OUT.

The ball (?), Boris Johnson, is in your court.

British Parliament recognises Palestine

1. Congratulations to the British parliament for voting (274 against 12) in favour of a motion recognising a Palestinian State. The debate – as parliamentary debates often go – was not very impressive, the outcome, however, is positive.

The motion is not binding on the British government and may therefore just be symbolic  - but symbolic acts, with the right luck, can be powerful too.

2. Shame on the Israeli Labour Party that tried to use its – evidently non-existent – influence over members of the British Labour party in a last minute hysterical attempt to block the vote. Leading the opposition means not acting like a government poodle. Try to remember that Mr. Herzog!

Samantha Cameron Moved to Tears

At the current Conservative Party conference, British Prime Minister David Cameron, referred to the fact that his deceased son (2009) was treated by the National Health Service (NHS) as proof that the NHS is close to his heart and was therefore safe in the hands of the Tories. (Which I doubt.)

Cameron’s use of his own son’s death for political purposes is tasteless but not surprising. I remember how in 1990, the British Secretary of State for Agriculture, John Gummer, tried to allay public fears about the safety of British beef by… publicly feeding his 4 year-old daughter with a hamburger. (Was that actually a form of child abuse?)

This week’s British press was full of headlines such as “Samantha Cameron Moved to Tears”. I am interested to know whether Mrs. Cameron “was moved to tears”, because

1.     She was reminded of her dead son?

2.     She was disgusted by her husband’s cheap ploy?

3.     Her tears were part of the Cameron orchestration, which will give her a few more years in Downing Street?

4.     She is always moved to tears when her husband is on stage?

British Intelligence Pushing Arabs to War

Five months ago, the British National Archives released newly declassified documents, according to which, British Intelligence “predicted war – and Arab defeat – in Palestine in 1948.” According to today’s Israeli media, Syrian files that reached French Intelligence prove that British Intelligence agents actively encouraged the Arab countries to invade the “to be established” new Jewish State, Israel.

So much for the impressive “forecasting” of British Intelligence.

What must now be asked is whether the almost frenzied attempts of the SIS -  or was it Military Intelligence – took place by instruction of the British government or behind its back?  If the British agents acted because they did not agree with their own government’s policy in the region and worked to counteract it – they are in fact traitors. 

This question ought to be answered.

David Cameron's Platitudes

Zara Phillips, Princess Anne’s daughter, one of the Queen’s eight grandchildren, has today given birth to a daughter. This is, I am sure, wonderful news to the family, but totally irrelevant to Britain. That is, unless you get excited by the 16^th in line to the throne.

Why does the British Prime Minister think it necessary to come out with a statement, and a banal one on top?

"It's wonderful news and I'm absolutely delighted for the couple. I know them a little and I know they'll be absolutely devoted and delighted parents, so happy news all round."

So Cameron knows them “a little” and judges that - unlike other parents - they will be “absolutely devoted and delighted parents”. Must be that blue – rather diluted by now – blood. 

The Queen and I

It has been reported that the British government is pushing a plan to buy a new yacht for the Queen as a present to celebrate her 60^th anniversary on the throne. Prince Charles – not surprisingly – is all for it.

The Queen does not have to try to be popular – she is popular. She is generally liked as well as respected by her subjects. But, if the Queen would take my advice, instead of that of her ministers, she would be doing the right thing. Right for her and right for us.

Instead of getting the taxpayers or some rich sponsors to buy her a yacht, the Queen should make a substantial present to us, to her subjects, to show her gratitude for being allowed to reign over us.

What I want is the Royal Collection: 7000 painting, 40,000 water colours and drawings and 150,000 old master prints. That is all. This enormous art collection is not privately owned by the Queen but held by her in trust, as the sovereign. So, it would not really cost her or her children anything.

The time has come for all those works of art to be openly and freely available to everyone. They should not be locked in the royal residences and only shown occasionally and partially at the Queens Gallery, where the Queen actually charges entrance fees.

So how about it, Ma’am?

British Ambassador to Lebanon: Cow – not Pig

The British ambassador to Lebanon, a woman named Frances Guy, referred to the late Ayatollah Hussein Fadlallah, a staunchly anti-American cleric who was mentor to the militant Hezbollah in Lebanon as a decent man whose death was sad news, adding, "the world needs more men like him".

An Israeli spokesman diplomatically responded, "Sheikh Fadlallah was behind hostage-taking, suicide bombings and other sorts of wanton violence, but Ambassador Guy said he was a man of peace, and Ambassador Guy is an honourable woman."

Not being bound by diplomatic niceties, I would have said that she is a pig but that would have made her unacceptable to her Hezbollah friends, and we would not want that. Cow?

Foreign Secretary Hague should fire her without delay.

King Cameron's Gold

On his first visit to Afghanistan, David Cameron, the new British Prime Minister arrived with money for his troops. Just like kings used to in the old days, Cameron came to the front to hand out coin-filled purses to the warriors.

Just in case they had not understood who their benefactor was, King Cameron clarified that the soldiers’ pay rise would be backdated to – surprise surprise -the day on which he was elected. Cameron’s advisers will doubtlessly remind the soldiers and their families of this benevolent act of our new king in five years’ time, before the next elections.

Until then, the happy soldiers will be expected to fight with greater enthusiasm.