Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/697149
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JUNE 2016 24 Opinion It's a threat to democracy, but not as we know it I t's not really a habit of mine to kick off an article with: "See? I told you so!" But that might just be because it's not a habit of mine to 'tell you so', and actually get it right. This time, however, the speed with which one of my earlier predictions came true took even humble little me by complete surprise. I mean, I knew I was right all along, of course… but not THAT right, for heaven's sake. And not when I'd so much rather have been proven wrong… Anyway, in case you're wondering: no, it wasn't the result of the Brexit referendum. That came almost as much a surprise to me, as it evidently stunned and stupefied most of the people who swim into my online newsfeed every day. In private conversations, I had even called it for 'Remain'… by as comfortable a margin as it was eventually won by 'Leave'. So no, all things considered, I got that one as wrong as everyone else. More than the result, it was the consequences of Brexit that I saw coming from long beforehand… to be specific, the way a perfectly legal and valid democratic decision – taken in full accordance with all the respected democratic traditions, by the population of a sovereign state – would be vilified, spat upon, and ultimately turned into a weapon with which to undermine democracy. All in the name of protecting and preserving the same democracy, of course. Why else? Yup, scary stuff. In fact, it was almost exclusively to avoid such a frightening scenario that I would have much preferred a 'Remain' win. To be honest, I see no other plausible reason to even take sides (still less to side with the 'In crowd'). Ultimately, Britain took a purely national decision that hinged directly on all the most basic fundamental concepts of 'sovereignty' and 'statehood'. It was a decision that, for better or for worse, struck at the very heart of the country's internal decision- making process. And that is precisely the stuff that 'national politics' is made of. Viewed from this angle, the personal preferences of individual nobodies from other countries suddenly don't seem very relevant at all. We have about as much right to be 'infuriated' at the British electorate's choice regarding EU membership, as the British have to object to any of our own choice of government in any election since Independence. Nor did it help much that all the Great and the Good, the Rich and the Powerful, the Famous and the Infamous, all descended upon the issue from all four corners of the world (neatly balanced out, too, with Obama and Trump on either side)… as if their Word alone was enough to settle the dispute. What was that, if not a classic case of: "Look at you silly little Brits: can't even take a decision on the future of your own country, without screwing it all up. Here, let me show you how it's done…"? Ah, well. Already seems a long time ago, though it was only last week. For now that those naughty, silly little Brits have gone and upset the rest of the world's precious apple-cart with such spectacular aplomb… oooh, dear. After all the trouble we all so generously took, to painstakingly spell out to those ignorant, uneducated British peasants what was actually expected of them by their benevolent lords and masters in this referendum… they went and voted how they wanted to regardless. I mean, the sheer cheek of it all is simply breathtaking… Hmm. Well, that was one tactic that was used, at any rate. There were others… and while less immediately arrogant and presumptuous, some of them were actually much worse. Consider for a moment at how the 'pro-Remain' faction of the European press responded to the threat of Brexit. Before the result was known, it was all 'hugs and kisses' all round. European newspapers seemed to be in a competition to see how many 1980s 'New Romantic' songs they could dig up and could turn into snazzy headlines: 'Please Don't Go'. 'Don't Leave Me This Way'. 'Don't EU want me, baby', and so on and so forth. (Note: if they're stuck for a headline now, I'd recommend Don McLean's 'Crying': you know, the one that goes: 'Cry-y-y-ying… over EU'…) And it took a Maltese citizen – we were told, with considerable pride, by the local press – to come up with what must be the most mawkish and cringe-worthy idea of the lot: a 'human chain' of kisses from all European cities to London… Aww, how sweet. Why not a box of Belgian chocolates for every British national, too? And unicorns… and puppy-dogs… and romantic candle-lit dinners for 42 million… Even without taking the subsequent slap in the face into consideration, it was easy to see that Europe's anti-Brexiters were seriously misjudging the nature and implications of the referendum. The entire approach to the 'In' side of things, in Britain and elsewhere, was almost Carnivalesque. There was a sense of f lippancy that actually bordered on open contempt. These people want to leave the EU? Fine, we'll respond by simply poking fun at the whole idea. So while Britain debated weighty and sober matters – which, incidentally, needed to be ironed out, in a country so viscerally divided – the rest of Europe was trying to inf luence the decision by sending them love, kisses, and gift-wrapped teddy-bears that squeak 'I Love You' when squeezed. And what, they expected that strategy to work? Seriously? Hate to point this out, but that sort of attitude can only be explained by a latent disdain for the democratic process itself. If 'Europe' took Brexit for a joke, it is only because it views the idea of deciding issues by popular vote to be a joke, too. And if you add Brexit to a long list of past bruising encounters between the EU and direct democracy – down to the recent Greek referendum on the bailout package, where the result was openly pooh-poohed and derided across Europe – you will find that while some people are clearly 'sceptical' about Europe… Europe is equally 'sceptical' about its own people. But all this was visible to us before. It is when you factor in the referendum result that the real problems start surfacing. The official result came in (I am told – for I was fast asleep at the time) at around five am Friday. Well, by around 11am my Facebook wall was already f looded with seething, hissing and brooding expressions of anger, outrage and resentment. All the 'how dare they think differently' reactions previously expressed only by European and world leaders, were suddenly ref lected in the thoughts and opinions of all the nobodies (myself included) whose opinion in the matter is actually worthless. I won't bother quoting random comments from people who need not be identified… but one theme resounded across the entire spectrum of reactions. I have taken the liberty to paraphrase the sentiment of many an online rant, whinge and moan in the following argument: "If this is the sort of results that a democratic exercise such as a referendum can yield… shouldn't we start thinking about scrapping the idea of deciding things by referendum?" That, at any rate, was the way it was put by people who genuinely wanted to start a discussion on the topic. In most other cases, it was more like: "This is what you get when you entrust a serious decision to a bunch of uneducated yobs and ignorant hamalli." (Note: for those unfamiliar with the term 'hamallu', it can safely be defined as 'anyone whose opinion about anything under Raphael Vassallo Award of Honours and Decorations Malta pays public tribute to Maltese citizens who have distinguished themselves in different walks of life and whose contribution and achievement enrich the general well-being of their fellow countrymen. Any Maltese citizen, a group of persons or a voluntary organisation which is duly enrolled with the Commissioner in terms of the Voluntary Organisation Act may be nominated for the award of an honour on Republic Day. Nominations for 2016 will be received by the Nominations Committee on the prescribed Nomination Form, addressed to the Chairman, Nominations Committee, Office of the Prime Minister, Auberge de Castille, Valletta VLT 2000, by not later than Tuesday, 26 th July 2016. Nomination forms may be collected from the Department of Information, 3, Castille Place, Valletta or downloaded from the website of the Office of the Prime Minister www.opm.gov.mt. For further information, one may contact the Cabinet Office on 22001481. The persons nominated should neither be approached for details, nor informed about their nomination. Nigel Farage, UKIP