Saturday, December 14, 2019

Farage vindicates me

Did the Brexit Party's massive defeat at the polls happen on purpose? My contention in a recent post was yes because Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit Party, had explicitly stated his intention to stand aside in order to allow for a Tory victory. Had Farage said this only after the election, I would have been less inclined to believe him. But he's been on record for a while as saying he would act for the greater good of the United Kingdom. All the same, listening to him try to spin the Brexit Party's defeat as a victory is still a bit cringe-worthy:


So in the above video, Farage affirms that he was indeed willing to stand aside and let the Tory wave pass. Whether Farage will have much of a voice as Brexit now unrolls is a matter of speculation. Farage says, as you heard above, that he doesn't like Boris Johnson's deal with the EU (understandable), but he optimistically considers it "half a loaf." Better than nothing, I suppose, and the deal might serve as something to build upon later, as the great unplugging continues. The UK certainly has options: uncoupling from the EU doesn't necessarily spell disaster. The nation can start by firming up its ties with the US and possibly Canada; it can also reposition its trade posture with Asia by moving away from China and focusing on India in a "let's let bygones be bygones" way. (The US is on the brink of making a similar move.) It can explore prospects in Southeast Asia, and as for the EU, there's nothing stopping a post-Brexit UK from reestablishing some form of economic ties with the Continent. So all is not lost. If anything, I'd like to believe the future just became a bit more hopeful... if only the Tories manage to rediscover their testicular fortitude.



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