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Project Pain
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Pelle Svanslös
Jul 26, 2016, 5:22:32 AM7/26/16
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A prospect far more threatening than Brexit is emerging: a reasonable
deal for the UK. ... This would be a grave mistake. If Britain comes out
of this looking anything less than severely diminished it will be
devastating for the EU.
The first argument for hurting the UK is by now well rehearsed: prevent
another reckless exit on the basis of lies. Europhobe parties across
Europe are anxious to repeat the feat of their British counterparts:
using distortions, half-truths, racism and delusional fantasies to cheat
their way to victory.
Call it Project Pain. When the EU starts negotiating the terms of its
divorce from the UK it must aim to inflict maximum political and
economic damage. Financial powers should be repatriated from London and
it must become nearly impossible for Asian, US or African multinationals
to continue to have their EU headquarters in the UK. Universities,
companies and cities must receive generous help to attract the best
minds from their UK rivals, for instance by offering EU passports. ...
Ideally, its economy should not get back to its pre-referendum size
before, say, 2030.
Especially in the past decade, the EU has been patient as the UK
government has missed no opportunity to undermine, disparage, blackmail
and even actively sabotage European politics. Push harder than anyone
for enlargement, as the UK did, then criticise the EU for being too big
and unwieldy. Pull yourself out of the coalition with Angela Merkel’s
party in the European parliament to join a motley crew of Europhobe
fringe parties, as David Cameron did with his Conservatives, then claim
you are not getting anything done in the European parliament.
The fact is that much of the British political elite has been using the
EU as a football for their own irresponsibly petty ends.
Project Pain is about protecting the EU from arsonists elsewhere and
about helping British democracy reinvent itself. Were the latter to
happen this story would have at least something of a happy ending, and
we could look back on it perhaps not as Project Pain but as Project
Tough Love.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/24/eu-britain-must-suffer-for-brexit
Joris Luyendijk is the author of Swimming with Sharks: My Journey Into
the World of the Bankers.
deal for the UK. ... This would be a grave mistake. If Britain comes out
of this looking anything less than severely diminished it will be
devastating for the EU.
The first argument for hurting the UK is by now well rehearsed: prevent
another reckless exit on the basis of lies. Europhobe parties across
Europe are anxious to repeat the feat of their British counterparts:
using distortions, half-truths, racism and delusional fantasies to cheat
their way to victory.
Call it Project Pain. When the EU starts negotiating the terms of its
divorce from the UK it must aim to inflict maximum political and
economic damage. Financial powers should be repatriated from London and
it must become nearly impossible for Asian, US or African multinationals
to continue to have their EU headquarters in the UK. Universities,
companies and cities must receive generous help to attract the best
minds from their UK rivals, for instance by offering EU passports. ...
Ideally, its economy should not get back to its pre-referendum size
before, say, 2030.
Especially in the past decade, the EU has been patient as the UK
government has missed no opportunity to undermine, disparage, blackmail
and even actively sabotage European politics. Push harder than anyone
for enlargement, as the UK did, then criticise the EU for being too big
and unwieldy. Pull yourself out of the coalition with Angela Merkel’s
party in the European parliament to join a motley crew of Europhobe
fringe parties, as David Cameron did with his Conservatives, then claim
you are not getting anything done in the European parliament.
The fact is that much of the British political elite has been using the
EU as a football for their own irresponsibly petty ends.
Project Pain is about protecting the EU from arsonists elsewhere and
about helping British democracy reinvent itself. Were the latter to
happen this story would have at least something of a happy ending, and
we could look back on it perhaps not as Project Pain but as Project
Tough Love.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/24/eu-britain-must-suffer-for-brexit
Joris Luyendijk is the author of Swimming with Sharks: My Journey Into
the World of the Bankers.
The Iceberg
Jul 26, 2016, 6:33:56 AM7/26/16
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