Current Politics in the United Kingdom

[haroldeye]

Germany gets lots of support from the EU. The complete bollocks they made of the Euro means that the German economy prospers at the expence of the PIG nations.

Germany didn't organise the bail out of Greece for the benefit of the EU, they did it to keep the Euro in place otherwise their economy would be really hard hit.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by haroldeye

Germany gets lots of support from the EU. The complete bollocks they made of the Euro means that the German economy prospers at the expense of the PIG nations

What do you mean "complete bollocks"? They all wanted to join it, and even 17 years later I've never personally met anyone who wanted to leave it, or had a negative opinion about it. On the contrary

Personally, I love it. It means you can easily compare prices when buying from different countries, you don't have to carry xx different currencies if you travel, and you don't pay the vultures' FX fees

But I know UK nationalists strongly dislike it, because they know it draws EU Member States closer together. They strongly dislike Schengen for the same reason, and hate accepting that both make life much easier for everyone -- maybe because they "opted out" of both and don't understand either, except that they somehow offend their ill-educated notions of "sovereignty"

"Sovereignty" in the 21. century is not what it was, and you seriously do get more from co-operation

[otokonomidori]

Originally Posted by palo5

What do you mean "complete bollocks"? They all wanted to join it, and even 17 years later I've never personally met anyone who wanted to leave it, or had a negative opinion about it.

I've met quite a few Germans who pine for the Deutschmark - recently one of my German tenants told me her parents wished they'd rebuild the Wall - to keep out the Ossies and the Poles she said .

[blueboy199]

Originally Posted by palo5

You don't have a democratically elected government. Ever thought of that? You're always ruled by rigged minorities. All of Europe knows that, though all are shocked when they find out

At least I don't have to take seriously anything you ever say again, palo5

[palo5]

Originally Posted by blueboy199

At least I don't have to take seriously anything you ever say again, palo5

Well, you have a hereditary Head of State, an unelected House of Lords, and FPTP for the Lower House where half the votes don't count, so I don't have to take your objection seriously either blueboy

Fyi, if you were democratic and didn't give "majorities" to minority votes, and if you had a written Constitution that told you what democracy is, my view of UK would be totally different, because the hypocrisy and dishonesty would be absent

[palo5]

Originally Posted by otokonomidori

I've met quite a few Germans who pine for the Deutschmark - recently one of my German tenants told me her parents wished they'd rebuild the Wall - to keep out the Ossies and the Poles she said .

I know, although no German ever said that to me, including my close German family. People, not just Germans, don't always accept new ideas. The Germans thought the DM was a sign of their potency, which it was. (Military potency was/is tabu). But they gave it up because German unity would not have happened without agreement for a Euro-currency

Say what you like, it was a master sell by Helmut Kohl

[Nobody1]

Originally Posted by otokonomidori

I've met quite a few Germans who pine for the Deutschmark - recently one of my German tenants told me her parents wished they'd rebuild the Wall - to keep out the Ossies and the Poles she said .

Yes, these people exist. Usually members of older generations with blurred, sentimental memories of some commercials from the 70s and 80s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwuFcL4TOEI

Younger Germans call them 'D-Markies'. They are seen as people who cannot let go. Somehow, this is even understandable from a purely human point of view.

Btw, the generations before wanted the Führer back since : 'Under Adolf, everything was better'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HrjT8Usm5U

You see, the actors change, but the play always remains the same.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by otokonomidori

From what I read the 27 are arguing plenty over how to fill the hole in the EU budget .

Originally Posted by jacques22

Not really.
European nations and institutions loaned more than 200 billion euros to Greece (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33407742).
So a hole of 50 billion euros is peanuts for the EU. You will find plenty of international banks and institutions that will happily loan that amount to the EU, keeping in mind that the Eurozone is growing at a faster rate than the UK since the referendum.

Originally Posted by palo5

No, they'll hardly notice it. Some projects will be delayed a little, but they'll save a lot on salaries & expenses for saboteurs such as UKIP MEPs

To be fair, €50 billion is only about a third of the EU's €145 billion annual budget. Chicken feed.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by palo5

What do you mean "complete bollocks"? They all wanted to join it, and even 17 years later I've never personally met anyone who wanted to leave it, or had a negative opinion about it. On the contrary

Personally, I love it. It means you can easily compare prices when buying from different countries, you don't have to carry xx different currencies if you travel, and you don't pay the vultures' FX fees

But I know UK nationalists strongly dislike it, because they know it draws EU Member States closer together. They strongly dislike Schengen for the same reason, and hate accepting that both make life much easier for everyone -- maybe because they "opted out" of both and don't understand either, except that they somehow offend their ill-educated notions of "sovereignty"

"Sovereignty" in the 21. century is not what it was, and you seriously do get more from co-operation

The populist right wing parties in Italy were clearly not enamoured of the Euro. The Italian president initially refused to allow them to form a government because he thought they would seek to withdraw Italy from the Eurozone.

You will find dislike for the Euro in many places, including Germany. Even touring Europe casually on a motorcycle I encountered a number of such people. That was in 2002, 2005 and 2007, long before the Eurozone crisis began with the Greek default.

Better stop watching Russia Today and start watching and listening to the world around you, Palo.

[scoundrel]

Apparently the European Commission is proposing a new rule abolishing Daylight Saving Time. But somewhere in the small print, subsidiarity is acknowledged and they are considering whether to allow member states to determine if they go permanently to summer time or to winter time.

If I know anything about the Tories, I know they they would have opted for the business-friendly, shitting on people option. Daylight saving time reduces energy bills for factories and schools and offices because the evenings are longer. It also leads to an increase in road traffic accidents in the morning rush hour, but hey, they would happily tell us all that it is all the EU's fault, like they did with the colour of the passports.

The British government did this before, between October 1968 and October 1971, and there is a reason why the experiment was abandoned. I know why, because I vividly remember walking to infants school in the morning through snow and ice and in pitch darkness. It is not a fun memory. There is a reason why we change time between summer and winter and it is a system which works.

This is a good example of where being inside the EU is a pain in the arse. There was no pressure for and no interest in changing the system on time changes inside the UK. This shit is coming from people who do not live here and should have absolutely nothing to say about what happens here. Now, were we to remain, we would be required to select either GMT or GMT + 1 (daylight saving time aka "British Summer Time") and live on it all year round. Unlike in 1968-71, where the Westminster parliament MPs listened to their constituents and abolished this foolish "reform" after three years of actual and needless hardship to little people, I strongly suspect that this rule change will stick across the EU regardless of how much it inconveniences the people themselves. The EU is divorced from the ordinary people and will not care if they are inconvenienced.

Stroll on.