The Impossible Dream

A great song recorded by great artists like Andy Williams, Michael Ball and?Il Divo.?However the topic under scrutiny is anything but great.?Indeed, the subject is the EU and specifically the perilous future for the Single Currency.

?I haven't written about the Euro for some time because there have been other more important issues taking centre stage.?However,?with COVID hopefully becoming less of an issue as the Government encourages the trend back to herd immunity, I thought it was high-time we re-visited?BREXIT and also examine how our neighbours in the EU, including Scotland, are coping without good old Blighty.

However, before we delve into the detail I have to confess that when we had the vote on leaving the EU - proposed by David Cameron; remember him because he is now more famous for other reasons?- I voted to stay in the EU not because I thought it was a good thing but because I thought we would be better served as a country by trying to reform Jean Claude Drunkard and Co from within The Union.?I only wish I had read the biography of Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek Finance Minister, before the vote because you only need to get to chapter two of his book and read the quote from Jean Claude Drunkard, 'When The Going Gets Tough You Just Have To Start Lying'.?Needless to say if I were given a second opportunity to vote I would change my opinion to leave; but it doesn't really matter anymore because we are now free from most of the EU bureaucracy; heaven knows where we would be with COVID 19 if we had had to jump through the EU bureaucratic hoops before we actually commenced vaccinating the populous. ?Unlike Politicians I am however prepared to show some humility and accept that I got it wrong but for the right reasons. ?I would also counter this by expressing that a good proportion of those who were responsible for securing BREXIT probably got it right for the wrong reasons.?No doubt this will strike a few chords of disagreement but as I always say, you are entitled to your opinion and everyone is entitled to my opinion.

Those still wanting to stay in the EU will probably raise their voices over supply chains problems and the lack of truck drivers?but supply chains are a global problem and not specifically a European problem.?I am also not aware of any snarl up at our ports; Kent has not become the proverbial car-park which many remainers were hoping for.?I would include amongst the EU loyalists Miss Caviar, her Brave Heart Cabinet and her faithful SNP followers .?Does she really not understand that an Independent Scotland could be a disastrous idea.?Her country would have the highest debt to GDP ratio of all the EU members, would have to agree to less oil revenues , a commodity that has always been at the heart of independence support - and Glasgow is just about to host the UN Climate Change Conference.?Scotland would also no longer receive the subsidies from England to support free education, prescriptions and health care etc.?Of more significance, Scotland wouldn't be allowed to retain Sterling and would not be able to use the Bank of England as a lender of last resort; and the irony is that there are no longer any independent banks in Scotland courtesy of Lloyds Bank who now owns Bank of Scotland.?Perhaps the SNP have also conveniently forgotten that had it not been for that hard-line Unionist, Gordon Brown, and Victor Blank brokering a deal with Eric Daniels to save Scottish jobs, the Bank of Scotland via Halifax (HBOS) and Lloyds would have gone under.?The Royal Bank of Scotland has also now been renamed NatWest and the Bank has gone on record that it will move its headquarter south of Hadrian's Wall if Scotland voted for Independence.?I don't usually like to be too contentious but on this occasion I will.?If Scotland does hold another referendum to leave the Union, England should perhaps have a parallel vote to see if we want Scotland to stay in the Union; perish the outcome.?Interesting times but it's good to promote some free speech in this WOKE world and getting it off your chest; so well worth debating.?Anti Union Scots living in England may even want to follow The Proclaimers advice and Walk 500 Miles.?However when push comes to shove I have total faith that the sensible Scottish voter will see the light of day and see through Miss Caviar's veneer.?If, however, they are still not convinced read on.

Getting back to my theme, the Impossible Dream, The ECB is no different to the UK Bank of England or indeed the US Federal Reserve when it comes to Printing Press Economics except that the ECB is not a Central Bank in total control of all the EU's individual economies; but as already mentioned there is a common theme as they are all printing money irresponsibly and to excess which is why they are committed to keeping short rates low, perhaps ?forever or at least until the whistle blows, and meantime they will bend over backwards to persuade the populous that the sharp rise in inflation we are all encountering is merely transient - what a fine example of the Impossible Dream.

I sometimes wonder?what the reaction would be from the ECB if there were another member country demanding to exit from the single currency.?All is clearly not happy in Club Med and I would include France under this category even though Club Med has traditionally focussed on The Iberian Peninsula, Italy and Greece.??Italy has arguably come closest to exiting but have been seduced by Target 2 Transfers.?If you want to know more just 'Google it'.?These are effectively interest free irredeemable loans from Germany but with a promise from Italy to stay in the single currency.?I am not totally convinced that the German populous is on board with how much has been paid away to Italy but I have seen eye-watering figures and in the best possible tone of that famous UK TV Series 'The House Of Cards', I couldn't possibly comment.?However this is where I put on my 'What If' hat.?What if the German populous was told the truth about these transfers - and there is about to be a changing of the guard in German politics as Angela Merkel exits stage left - so what if Germany decided enough of this farce; we want our Deutschemark and our Bundesbank back.?That would create The Impossible Dream.?Maybe, just maybe it is now time to fight the unbeatable foe to bear the unbearable sorrow and go where the brave dare not go.?If this were to happen, even Miss Caviar may actually see some merit embracing the Union.

The above comments are merely ?opinions designed to promote debate and some of my views ?may never come to fruition but I have always been a supporter of free speech and opinion, something that our Media is doing its best these days to suppress or dilute and if I were an EU sympathiser or a fan of Scottish Independence, I wouldn't hold my breath.?This is my quest to follow that star no matter how hopeless no matter how far. The Impossible Dream.