It's referendum week in the UK and everyone - including non British citizens - is caught in a web of confusion and negativity. Germans like me are caught up in it too...but do we have a right? Nazi terror in Germany came to an end 70 years ago, thanks to the united forces of some allied countries, including the then very Great Britain. Germany was then divided, the Western half trying successfully to practise democratic rules, East Germany being the baddies under Soviet control. Meanwhile former enemies like France, UK, USA, and all the others, reluctantly become friends. Germany sought to become closer to others again through international involvement in the Council of Europe, the European Union, Nato, and the European Space Agency, just to name a few. The United Kingdom, a monarchy leading the Commonwealth, is a founding member of all of them, including the OSCE, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
I had the privilege to work for two of them, my wife for three. So I can claim to know what I am talking about. I discussed with Prime and other Ministers, Parliamentarians and loads of civil servants, both national and international. One of the first principles of cooperation in Europe I came across was fairness, respect and curiosity for other cultures and opinions. And sometimes, competence. My beloved wife is from Yorkshire. We worked and lived in several European countries (Switzerland, Cyprus, Belgium, France, Germany and Austria) before settling down not far from Leeds. Learning mainly from media in Germany and the UK, I realise that there is a global approach to everything. And a national one: "Germany, Buyer spends more than € 600 000 at Nazi memorabilia auction", headlines The Guardian. The same paper also says: "Brexit would make Britain the world's most hated nation".
We've got used to all sorts of accusations, attacks, lies and simulations during the Referendum trauma, the country is exposed to until the 23rd of June. Hate speech is used where sober politicians were normally used to practise moderate language. Farage accuses Cameron, Boris Johnson (but not only) is said to tell lies and to make up stories (like he did when he worked in Brussels as a young journalist), Michael Gove, another Brexiteer, shudders when he sees Farage's "migrant" poster. Aren't we reaching a dangerous state of mind, if we take all that seriously? We are already confused.
Yes, there was probably an auction of Nazi memorabilia somewhere in Germany. What could be the meaning of that in the actual British context? Surely facing these problems together makes more sense? We are all facing the same problems: migration (there is more than a million of them in Germany), the environment (we all share that), the costs of cooperation (we all pay), the control of borders (UK has mainly water around islands), the unemployment in our countries (whose fault is this?) and the general feeling that Brussels is permanently exploiting citizens (and that we can change, if there is a common will). The problem however is, that we are not sufficiently informed about the details. Politicians and the media seem to play a strange game at present. "Battle of the Bastards", Game of Thrones? We are quite confused and would like to see more respect for the poor people who have to vote without knowing what it is all about.
The Germans, like most of the other EU countries, do NOT want to patronise Britain. Why should they? They want Britain to stay in the Union. That was UK's original option. Even Général de Gaulle had to accept it in the end. The strength of Europe lies in unity and cooperation, not division. It's not too late for the tone to change, says The Guardian, one of the world's best newspapers. BUT IT IS VERY LATE! So, let's become reasonable again and LET'S STAY.
I had the privilege to work for two of them, my wife for three. So I can claim to know what I am talking about. I discussed with Prime and other Ministers, Parliamentarians and loads of civil servants, both national and international. One of the first principles of cooperation in Europe I came across was fairness, respect and curiosity for other cultures and opinions. And sometimes, competence. My beloved wife is from Yorkshire. We worked and lived in several European countries (Switzerland, Cyprus, Belgium, France, Germany and Austria) before settling down not far from Leeds. Learning mainly from media in Germany and the UK, I realise that there is a global approach to everything. And a national one: "Germany, Buyer spends more than € 600 000 at Nazi memorabilia auction", headlines The Guardian. The same paper also says: "Brexit would make Britain the world's most hated nation".
We've got used to all sorts of accusations, attacks, lies and simulations during the Referendum trauma, the country is exposed to until the 23rd of June. Hate speech is used where sober politicians were normally used to practise moderate language. Farage accuses Cameron, Boris Johnson (but not only) is said to tell lies and to make up stories (like he did when he worked in Brussels as a young journalist), Michael Gove, another Brexiteer, shudders when he sees Farage's "migrant" poster. Aren't we reaching a dangerous state of mind, if we take all that seriously? We are already confused.
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One of the Forefathers. |
The Germans, like most of the other EU countries, do NOT want to patronise Britain. Why should they? They want Britain to stay in the Union. That was UK's original option. Even Général de Gaulle had to accept it in the end. The strength of Europe lies in unity and cooperation, not division. It's not too late for the tone to change, says The Guardian, one of the world's best newspapers. BUT IT IS VERY LATE! So, let's become reasonable again and LET'S STAY.
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