The referendum of June
23, 2016 regarding Britain’s remain at or exit from the European Union, through
its subversive BREXIT result - the first major, painful defeat for the under
German control European Union of the banks and multinationals,- undoubtedly shook
the dominant British and European political and economical system. This will
power of the sovereign British people can not be violated-that is thrown in the
bin of rubbish- by any tribunal, parliament or government, because such a
development would be clearly undemocratic aberration.
The British, taken as a
whole, are not the people of a protectorate who might have perhaps a slave
mentality. They are the proud people of a great country that in the past has
been an empire and today is one of the world's largest economies. The British
therefore, who are also the winners of two world wars, have developed a highly
dignified attitude and behavior. So, the British citizens who endured with
unprecedented fortitude and bravery the fierce bombardments of the Nazi air force in World War II, would not be
able to accept, -against any short-term negative economicc impacts arising from
the BREXIT-, the German domination and leadership in the European Union.
Thus, the incredible
surprise of the German political leaders and far away standing bureaucrats in
Brussels caused by this amazing, liberating for the ordinary people result, on
that promising and sunny dawn of June 24, 2016, but also the shock from the
recent selection antisystemic of Donald Trump in USA, does not comply in any
way with any historical knowledge and thorough data analysis.
Germany's assiduous
effort to put under its complete control the European people and level once
again the continent –this time not by the use of military weapons as in the past, but the use
of economic ones-, presents similar, ignorant of history characteristics. It is
obvious that the Germans, who cannot control in any way their great political
and economic power, are completely ignorant of the history, and so now, find
themselves -by mathematical determinism- on the verge of a new defeat that will
come through the imminent, unraveling of
the European Union.
The European Union, which in 1993 through the
Maastricht treaty replaced the until then EEC, is basically a by default
unnatural and defective political and economic union of states with different
political, legal, economic, military and cultural levels, but as well a union
of people who feel like strangers to each other, without any mutual and
brotherly feelings of solidarity Thus, the grandiose pronouncements and
unrealistic visions for a democratic and prosperous from end to end European
Union could not but be bitterly ruled out.
Germany, taking
advantage of the impacts of the crisis erupted in September 2008 through the
grandiose collapse of the banks (Lehman Brothers), and invoking -of course- the
Maastricht Stability Pact and the need for reform packages so that the negative
effects of the crisis can be confronted, has been implementing since then -with
exaggerated dominance- a kind of economic totalitarianism, mostly against the
weak Member States of the European periphery.
The anti-grass roots
economic plans of the strictest neoliberal austerity imposed by Berlin have
indeed leveled the societies of the southern Europe countries. In Greece,
-which is certainly the most typical example of the pilot implementation of
these incredibly absurd and economically irrational policies-, unemployment has
increased dramatically to 26.8% of the workforce, while 36% of the Greek
population lives below the poverty line. In Italy, 24.4% of the population is
facing the risk of poverty and social exclusion. In Spain 22,2% of the households live below the poverty line
and more than one in three children, -that means 2.6 million, - are facing the
risk of poverty and social exclusion. In Portugal, one in four children lives
below the poverty line and a total of about two million people - 20 % of its
population- live amid poverty and destitution.
In the same time,
Germany has clearly received unprecedented economic benefits. Its extremely big
profits arise from the transfer of investors’ money to «low risk» German bonds
due to the crisis plaguing the eurozone. Especially after 2009, yields on
German bonds have reached the bottom of the barrel, while in some cases (eg
5-year German bonds) reached negative interest rates. That means that Germany
not only does not pay to borrow, but on the contrary, investors -given the
insecurity in the euro zone- pay it in order to safeguard their money. Thus, in
five years time (2010-2015), Germany has managed to save a total of EUR 100
billion, equivalent to 3% of its GDP, precisely because of the dramatic
reduction in borrowing costs.
So, it is more than
obvious to every benevolent observer that the European Union -and surely the
extremely neoliberal eurozone- operates in the interests of the hegemonic and
dominant Germany at the expense of other Member States and mainly at the
expense of the southern Europe countries. The extremely high trade surpluses
achieved by Germany, -eg. in 2013 it had a trade surplus of 200 billions thus
remaining a highly competitive state, -are certainly due to the great German
economic machine but in the same time they are scandalously increased by the
unfair eurozone monetary system.
Germany for the first
time in many years, apart from its economic boom, has become a first rate
international player, given that its political leadership has found itself at a
key position thus being able to represent the other European countries, without
being asked to. So Great Britain’s - the first military power, a permanent
member of the UN Security Council and the country with the third largest
contribution to the EU budget- exit from the European Union, represents a fatal
blow to the international status of the European Union and first of all to the
status of Germany.
In the same time, the
European Union institutions and decision-making processes lack democratic
legitimacy and they are distant and inaccessible to the ordinary European
citizen. Thus, a deep democratic deficit directly opposing the founding
treaties of the European Union and grossly violating the original declaratory
core of values, is clearly visible The people of Europe do not exert absolutely
any direct influence on the important European Union decision-making
institutions –i.e the European Council with its strong centralized role and the
European Commission with its highly bureaucratic and technocratic nature- while
these institutions have absolutely no accountability to the citizens. On the
other hand, the directly elected European Parliament, which is based in
Strasbourg, does not possess by no means sufficient powers and continues to be
a weak link.
In conclusion, the
European Union which has been reduced into a type of German colony, despite the
illusions cultivated by certain political circles, is not willing to change or
improve, or even acquire a democratic, social role. Thus came the great time
for the enslaved countries within the European Union and the euro zone to
follow the shining example of Great Britain and the proud British people, to
break their steel shackles and get
liberated, looking forward with a widespread hope and optimism.
Article written by: Karderinis Isidoros
Isidoros Karderinis was
born in Athens in 1967. He is a novelist, poet and economist with postgraduate
studies in the tourism economy. Articles of his have been republished in
newspapers, magazines and sites worldwide. His poems have been translated into
English, French and Spanish and published in literary magazines and literary
sections of newspapers. He has published seven poetry books and two novels. His
novels and three of his poetry books have been published in USA and Great
Britain.
Email:
skarderinis@hotmail.gr
Facebook: Karderinis
Isidoros
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