Sure, I read it. The reality is pretty self-evident if one is honest. People, in this case Europeans, are shifting their support to what they perceive to be the lesser of two evils.
Fundamentally, people have lost control of their own governments. Democracy was never perfect but it is predated on the principle that the people will keep the politicians in check.
For a whole host of reasons, fewer people tend to vote and governments get bigger and assume more and more control. What politician can resist a "new and good piece of legislation" when they have nothing else to do?
The same is happening in democracies around the world. Those who are in touch with their political reality are fed up. The rest have given up. Brexit is an attempt to halt the march towards complete submission to the political elite by those who wish to voice an opinion and choose to mark an X on a ballot. The rest just complain that they do not see the need to vote because they really do not wish to be bothered and support the basic notion that government is inherently good, control over the population is what is needed and as long as the "free cheese" continues to be handed out, they are all for this type of "I don't have the time or inclination to care" governance - a literal field day for politicians who detest facing criticism and prefer to just get it done before anyone really understands what it is that they these political creatures are actually doing.
Nationalism and extreme right wing ideologies stem from political frustration and a sense of public helplessness. That's not to say these fascists intend to correct the problems, but they are all too eager to act like typical politicians and capitalize on the naivety of those desperate to halt the runaway train.
The take away lesson is this: If people see fascism as a problem, it is up to them to ensure that fascists don't get power. If the people see runaway government as a problem, it is up to them to remove the errant politicians at the first available opportunity and continue doing so until the wishes of the people are upheld.
If the voters are not prepared to do their part, then you get what we now see with the EU that is no longer recognizable as an economic union or in fact a union of any kind. The interests of government and the people are diverging at an ever increasing pace. The result, someone pulls the emergency break by way of offering extreme polar opposites in political leanings and the people, who still cannot grasp that they are a big part of the problem, latch on to what appears to be an easier solution offered by someone else rather than tossing the ba$tards out of office time and again until the system is corrected.
Voters need to fix the fact that governments no longer represent them, not latch on to smooth sales pitches from other politicians offering to to do what voters must do themselves. The cake in the windows always looks good. After a bite, if you don't like the taste, it's too late, you just bought the cake.
|