RB>> I was referring to the time that has passed since the referendum. And RB>> whether "they" will take years to compregend how to implement the RB>> decision is something we can't know at present.
WD> Britain's approach to the Brexit is rather peculiar.
WD> As we speak, confirmation hearings are being held in Brussels for WD> Julian King [UK] who will be Britain's new Commissioner in the WD> European Commission.
WD> That makes it seem they're not in that much of a hurry.
Could be. Not up to me.
RB>> By the way, there's a good reason why the German government never RB>> allowed it's citizens to vote on EU membership or adoption of the RB>> Euro, much less on a Gerexit. The sentiment here is presumably not RB>> much different from that in the UK.
WD> You seem to bypass 2 things:
And you to ignore one: with certain exceptions, the populations affected by all this were never asked what _they_ wanted. Everything was decided by politicians, who may have been elected, but certainly were not authorized to make such radical decisions as they did over their consistuency's heads.
You may say "then why weren't the governments voted out?". But to vote a government out, you have to have an alternative. And there was none in the countries that did not allow their citizens a say in matters. Not any more than there is now in Germany, where Ms. Merkel got rid of any possible competition as soon as she was elected. Take your choice, the devil or Beelzebub. And those most affected have no say in the matter, except - as we have seen - in the UK.
I don't know what makes the politicians madder: the vote fpr Brexit or the fact that some of their political buddies allowed their population to have a say in the matter. There's a lot of hate speech against the British in political circles in Germany. And plenty of politicians swearing "revenge". The population here is a good deal less angry, many wishing that they had the same rights as the British gave their population.
Ever hear of the AfD (Alternative fuer Deutschland)? It's an up and coming party that's being tarred by the "established parties" as rightest. But the real reason for the invective is plain fear of competition, this time from the conservative side of the political spectrum. The competition from the left (leading to the party Die Linke) was also tumultous, but hardly as vindictive, as Germans naturally tend to prefer leftist parties - possibly in part due to their history.
Anyway, we have a drift from the political center to the right and left, accompanied by ever lower election participation. And the politicians, instead of paying attention to the wishes and fears of their constituents, simply wring their hands and continue doing what they please.
WD> I'm 65, so I can't count either.
You wouldn't count if you were 35, nor would I. The politicians had a grand idea - one that had the real advantage of giving them more power and money to spend - and that was that. Now _we_, you, I and all the rest who had no say in the matter, have to pay the bills and be treated like children by our overpaid "betters" based in Brussels. I'm not the only one who doesn't like that situation.
