Political Lottery and Questions

I suppose, or I would at least like to venture, that you are probably as bored hearing about Donald Trump, Brexit, the set of European elections and the ‘always’ pending political changes in South Africa, as I am? The overarching question though is when and why did such seemingly huge and important political moves and machinations become so dull and repetitious?

The Donald really has to just ‘get over himself ’ and his tweeting. Isn’t tweeting for regular people, not the most powerful man on earth? Or does that title now belong to Mr Putin, as he seems to be involved in everyone’s election? Brexit arrived almost by accident fuelled by the idiotic triplets, Farage, Johnson and Gove. Suddenly it became the referendum at which 52% of the population voted to leave Europe, but now only 10%understand why. Mrs May, she of the massive bauble necklace collection and a desire to be the new ‘Iron Lady’,has decided that she will take the 52% endorsement of something she didn’t support herself and wrap it up in away that ensures that Britain is not just leaving Europe, but also declaring an economic and divisive war on all its previous EU partners; good luck Theresa!

A granite hard Brexit is not good for Angela Merkel, who must wonder if the whole of Europe has gone mad. The social democrats, the liberal ‘nice guys’ who normally sit in the middle of the road, do nothing and yet have run Europe and its constituent parts, for the last few decades, seem to be vanishing faster than Dutch and Turkish diplomacy. Thankfully the Dutch did not elect to power the fascists hiding in their midst, although Turkey’s President Erdo?an, a pleasant and very unassuming man I believe – when he is asleep – couldn’t’ differentiate between Mark Rutte, the Dutch liberal and Gert Wilders an alleged closet brown shirt.

Theresa May's snap elections to "gain a stronger backing for the Brexit talks" seems to have backfired quicker than a 1879 Martini Henry Rifle. With a hung parliament it seems she is scrambling to pick up the pieces of her mistakes by forming a coalition with a political party which is only famous now for being the lap-dog of the conservative elite.

Then there is the political sci-fi landscape that is South Africa today. Will there or won’t there be a Christmas party celebration at the Zuma holiday house this year, possibly in the ‘firepool’? Will the ex Mrs Zuma be on her way in or will Cyril, or another, get to all the selection boxes first? There must be someone running a sweep on all of these outcomes in SA. Will SA be downgraded? It won’t, it seems,unless a civil war breaks out. Will Pravin Gordhan keep his job, will there ever be another SONA (State of the Nation Address) without‘three falls, one submission and a knock out?’ I don’t know about you but I have decided to stop reading about all of these dull things and just go to bed with a hot cup of rooibos and the latest exciting version of the Financial Services Board (FSB)’s RDR suggestions. It’s a fascinating read and has now been extended to a trilogy.I can hardly wait, the FSB are now turning out these new versions quicker than Wilbur Smith and his team of ghost writers can produce the latest ‘Colonialist’ page turner. I wonder if Mrs Zille is a Wilbur fan?

All in all, from the Oval Office in Washington D.C, to the desolate hills of Babanango (South Africa), political turmoil and uncertainty is rife. Markets, however, seem to continue their steady upward trend with the EUR strengthening against the GBP and USD. European markets are enjoying the largest inflows in years as investors seek certainty above the "what if's" of the US and UK. Obviously Macron's victory, coupled with Merkel's CDU leading the polls, is bringing some calmness to Europe amongst the dysfunctional politics of the era. Viva Europa!