Is the sense of patriotism counterproductive in the global economy?

Tomorrow we will see Theresa May finally trigger Article 50. After much talk and deliberation there are still people out there that don’t really believe this is going to happen. The reality from a global sense is that the mixed messages coming from Westminster must look shambolic to the rest of the world, which of course begs the question, do they know what they are doing?

However, this is irrelevant as we did vote to leave and we are finally starting proceedings this week. When people went to the polls the Brexit campaign was built on slogans like “vote to leave the EU, make the 23rd of June our independence day” and “let’s take back control.” In turn, this was then followed up in the US, with Trump’s “Make America great again.” Both campaigns were successful but is this sense of nationalist nostalgia counterproductive in the global economy?

At present, the pound’s value is the lowest it has been for 30 years and in the US, March has been reported as having the slowest growth in the past 6 months. This policy of national identity clearly hit home with voters but at what cost?

In contrast, for the first quarter of 2017, the EU has posted the highest growth rate it has had in six years. Another huge significance has been the recent Dutch elections, with Mark Rutte easily defeating Geert Wilders who had pledged to take the Netherlands out of the EU.

This would suggest the hypothesis: solidarity and working together will help strengthen an economy as part of a wider group. In November last year we also saw the beginning of the introduction of the EU ICT directive, which will allow non EU citizens on a work permit to work across all EU member states, except Denmark, Ireland & the UK. This has so far been implemented by Bulgaria, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and Spain. More recently Germany submitted their draft to implement the directive. With all member states working together, has this made Europe the safer bet for investment as there are less hurdles for organisations to move labour through?

Of course, time will tell as we still have both French and German elections to come this year and these could both go either way, but based on current evidence it would be best to suggest that we should simply stick together. At a macro level, it demonstrates that unity between countries is just as important as individuality and the need to work in harmony. Campaigns on taking back control and making things great again may have won votes but in the long run are we facing being outcast on the global stage?

Of course, this is a drastic viewpoint but working within global mobility we have seen a steady decrease in roles over the past 18 months. Brexit will create work but it is the hesitation to spend when there is such an air of uncertainty. If the EU can weather the next 12 months and remain cohesive, it gives an excellent platform for the future. Time will tell, but I for one would rather be working together with our neighbours rather than worrying about how great our country is…