Farewell, England

EUROPE and the UK

two short blog entries by Ferenc H?rcher

before and after the BREXIT vote

BEFORE THE VOTE

Europe needs the Brits

2016/06/21

If they leave, they weaken us, if they remain in, they strengthen us.

Europe is by now mourning for the Brits. Its leaders are negotiating behind closed doors and with real panic about the possible scenarios of a potential leave. SOme of the supporters of the leace campaign have already cooled in their (French?) champagnes. But one should remember: never praise a ford till you get over. For it is still possible that the advantage in favour of the exit which came out last week turns out to be counterproductive, and perhaps it can mobilise in the last minute the – mostly young -supporters of the in campaign, who would otherwise have remained at home.

The campaign of the Hungarian government in favour of the in party is a good occasion to clearly state: it is not along the conservative-liberal, left wing-right wing, cosmopolitan-patriot divide, that the in and out votes are distributed. Ti put it in a simple way: there can be good conservative arguments in favour of remaining in. But now we are less interested in the internal debates of the British conservatives.

We are more interested in Europe – and in our own fate in Europe.

This is what really matters for the European and Hungarian conservatives.

I think, that both European and Hungarian conservatives are interested int he United Kingdom remaining within the European Union. Once could argue in favour of this position in a very detailed and elaborate fashion. I will not do so now.

I simply claim that if the UK will be able to remain within the Union, this will bring with it a different Europe than if it leaves. The Brits, through their approach to things and through their political culture will always be able to cool down the system, while if they leave, the Union will lose the last strong European power around which the conservative side can flock together to have an effect on the blind political leaders of the old continent.

I think this is an evident claim, in favour of which one does not need to argue long and in a detailed fashion. The counterbalance of Brussels-based political engineering is British common sense and cold blood. It is the voice of common sense, that demands that Europe should remain together – as it is the voice of common sense that the the Brussels-Strasbourg-Luxembourg-frankfurt conglomerate needs a substantial cutback. Such a conjunction of affairs can only be the result of a British decision to remain in.

But I have one more argument. This is that if the UK’s Europan membership is saved, then the demarcation line between the conservative and the radical right, irresponsible and populist direction remains clear and undebatable.

 For I think that British conservatism has such a strong tradition, that it should not be mixed up with the radicalism of a UKIP or a Le Pen. If the in votes win, political sobriety and institutional stability can be guaranteed, which the European alteregos of Trump endanger – which deceives a number of conservative voters, as well. IT is for this reason that Europe badly needs the conservative British politics of common sense – including us, Hungarians, too.

AFTER THE VOTE

The Farewell of England

2016/06/21

The European Union has suffered a serious blow. If this union is based on democratic foundations, its leaders need to draw the adequate consequences from it.

We do not know yet, what will happen in the United Kingdom as a result of the win of the out vote. Even the winners cannot be sure, whether the political leaders and the economic elite can control the events. But if they take seriously the democratic principles, they have to hear the voice of the “people”, even if the majority has won with a very narrow margin.

For us, in continental Europe, however, it is more important to see how Europe reacts. If the countries which effectively lead the European Union – German and France – and the elite which leads the institutions of the union do not understand the serious critique,  which is articulated by the vote in favour of the out in Britain, then we might expect even more serious consequences in Europe. We can only trust that the leaders of Europe understand: one cannot play politics on the long run and in serious matters against the will of the electorate.

The markedly different, characteristic common vision of the Visegrad countries reassures it that the Union can only remain viable, if we witness basic reforms to stop the overweight of the Brussels-Strasbourg-Luxembourg-Frankfurt power quadrangle, and to stop the democratic deficit.

Of course we have to remain realist: Europe is governed by the great powers, and it might take longer time to let the ships of these great powers turn towards a different harbour. But we have to be clear: if we want to preserve Europe’s unity, than there is a need to reform Europe democratically and in order to have an institutional system which safeguards better the sovereignty of the member states.