Prague, June 23 (CTK) – The problem of the European Union is that it has been governed by a cartel of the same politicians with the same opinion for almost 40 years and there exists no relevant opposition, Roman Joch writes in Lidove noviny (LN) on yesterday’s British Brexit referendum.
Joch, director of the Civic Institute, writes that if Britain left also because the EU politicians do not deal with the existing issues, this would cause political and psychological, not economic problems.
Everyone wants to do business with Britain and it itself wants to do business with all, and this would continue even if it left the EU, Joch writes.
Politically, however, Britain is not a monolith, but a diverse country and it is a question of whether the United Kingdom would still be the United Kingdom if it left the EU, Joch writes with an allusion to the fact that Scotland might eventually withdraw from the UK and re-enter the EU on its own.
Joch writes that it is in the interest of the Czech Republic and the whole of Central Europe that Britain remain in the EU because it is an anti-centralisation, anti-bureaucratic and liberalisation element within the community.
It could also happen that the EU disintegrated, which would result in a new assertiveness of national states, particularly the large ones, Joch writes.
The Czech Republic and other countries would find themselves between the large Germany and the large Russia and they would lose the possibility of establishing ad hoc coalitions with the Britons, or the French, or the Germans, or the Scandinavians. Instead, they would fall under the hegemony of the most distinctive large country in their neighbourhood, that is Germany or Russia, Joch writes.
True, the democratic Germany is better than the autocratic Russia, but the current state of affairs is even better because it offers (at least some) freedom of choice, Joch writes.
If Britain leaves the EU and does not disintegrate, it will take minimally two years before they settle their relationship, Joch writes.
Little time and space will be left for dealing with foreign political issues, such as the defence of the Baltics from an unnamed Eastern power, he writes.
If the UK also disintegrated, or split into England and Scotland, it would be necessary to relocate four Vanguard submarines with a nuclear deterrent arsenal from the Faslane naval base in Scotland to a substitute port in England, Joch writes.
He writes that this would completely sidetrack any idea of the protection of the Baltics.
Joch writes that a lesson should be drawn from the whole thing: never no more referenda on anything. Citizens should have the freedom and right to show their will in general elections.
Indirect democracy (representative) is a more noble form of governance than direct democracy (referenda) not because the people would be more stupid than the lawmakers, Joch writes.
However, the latter have opportunities to more thoroughly discuss a certain issue because there are maximally a couple of hundreds of them, he adds.
Joch writes that those who have dominated the EU institutions for a long time should be replaced with a democratic alternative, but few think like this in the EU.
This means that people will be faced with various worries irrespective of the Brexit referendum result. But it is better to be worried together than not to be worried at all for the sole simple reason: only the dead are not worried, Joch writes.
