The concept of joining the commonwealth may well become a necessity rather then a choice in the future. Looking at it from a purely neutrall standpoint it might be the lesser of an awful lot of evils given the way the political landscape is changing.
May seems determined to trigger article 50 one way or another. Thatās fine. Europe can survive without the Brits. But their nearest neighbours go to the polls next May in an election that will probably decide the future of the EU. Le Pen has already stated that if elected she will hold a ballot on exiting.
Would anyone bet against it if she does win. She would probably try to hAve the votexperience within the first 6 to 12 months assuming she can maintain popularity.
What are the consequences? Without doubt the EU would be rocked to its foundations and it would trigger a flurry of possible exits from Austria, possibly Holland which may have a knock on effect.
So where does that leave us? Isolated. Too small to possiibly survive on our own. We would be totally exposed.
An EU break up might need to a natural alliance between different groups of smaller states which is easier to format in mainland Europe. In such a scenario, I believe we would have no choice but to tighten our relationship with Britain. Maybe not in the former of joining the commonwealth , but certainly in terms of financial policy etc. we would probably end up going down the same lines.
On a foot note. Volkswagon has announced it is to cut 30k in jobs. Most of them in Germany.
Donāt think that this wont have a political impact and you could well see a Trump like figure emerging there as well. This is bad news for Merkel. And we all know there are enough right wing movementso in Germany to trigger at least a major change in mindset.
So all in all while the mere mention of joining the commonwealth is against most of our natural instinct, it may well be our only option in a few years.
WhY could we not go alone? Weāve conditioned ourselves that we need Europeā¦ We need trade yes, but Norway do alright on their own. ā¦ we control a vast amount of fishing territoryā¦ We have an ideal climate for farming, our tourism appeal is high but could easily be made better. We are still perfectly placed as an English speaking country on the edge of Europe to deal with the yanks ā¦ one of the biggest problems with the modern world is that weāve let big business rules our every thought and thereās a fear of āmarketsā and āeconomiesā instilled in every one of usā¦ I donāt recall that becoming common language until maybe 10 years agoā¦ The rise of the right stems from this fear and the control neoliberalism has over modern society. Please are sick of being treated like a commodity and see the nation state and if you want, old values, as a way to break this controlā¦ Joining the commonwealth wonāt change anything. What we should do is finally tighten the belt and go it alone and learn to stand on our own two feet.
Iāve given that a like chief as it is an excellent post and makes some fine points. I donāt disagree with you one bit. Really what I was trying to do was stir up some genuine debate. The commonwealth in real terms means fuck all to me. The point being that there appears to be a pretty big swing in the political landscape. If this comes to fruition then we as a nation can no longer hang off the coattails of Europe and take it up the ass from Merkel. We will have to do something in order to maintain some sort of stability and whether that means going it alone or forming some sort of alliance with the Brits is a debate well worth having regardless of oneās viewpoint
Iād have no problem joining some sort of political union with Britain, that promotes the points I made above - no need to join something that promotes empire and holds no political clout in a modern sense.
Seriously, I know itās not as simple as planting a few spuds, catching a few fish and selling craft beer to the rest of the worldā¦ but the very fabric of modern Ireland hinges on multi-nationals that could pull out on a whim. We have to address that balance our we will forever be living in fear.
The Commonwealth of Nations is about a shared history of language (by and large), culture and history. The Monarch is merely head of the Association and this can change by a simple democratic vote of nations.
I find it frankly bizarre that armchair Republicans who support a garrison game and support British soccer teams are so resolute against this. They are all speaking the language and consume unending amounts of British culture. We fly a flag which recognises that culture, trying to say in a Republic these can live together. No other country has the connection to the UK that Ireland does.
Republicans long for a 32 county Republic, when a substantial number of this island feel a great affinity to British culture and indeed feel British themselves. Yet here is Ireland and itās hypocritical citizens who watch the EPL and the BBC, turning their nose up to a glorified talking shop as they donāt like the Queen. They dream of this Republic, but have no realistic ideas on how to bridge that gap. Republicans in name only.
We are about to see a border go up on this island again and they just shrug their shoulders and post YouTube links to the Wolfe Tones.
If other countries, brutalised by the British Empire can join, then why not Ireland?
So because we watch the British Premier League and watch Graham Norton on a Friday night, we should change our national structure to be a part of an archaic monarchy system? I watch NFL and South Park, does that mean I should lobby for us to join the USA?
