I have just watched the panorama programme.
What astonishes me most is not the practicalities of the whole episode but the ego's of those involved. It is obvious to me that the good of the nation comes second to the good of the personal ego. Those who are the most intransigent have the biggest ego's and they are the most fearful of losing face. It is personal to them and we the people are not their concern. When you base your argument on who believes the most it is not putting the nations interests first, it is putting themselves first and it is putting their need for personal gratification in front of any collaborative outcome. As a nation we are being sacrificed upon the altars of there ego's and whether you voted leave or remain, whether you are a believer in a noble cause or not you do not matter. What matters is personal advancement and personal gain.
I am surprised by the fact that having watched it the only party I feel that really does do their voters proud is the DUP who are steadfast in their position and are not prepared to compromise on it. That is their right, they have to stand for their voters and respect the wishes of those who elected them. Mrs May who I believe to be one of the worst Prime Ministers in history actually comes out of the program quite well, she was obviously at the mercy of those whose ego's meant more to them than her efforts to deliver and I actually felt for her, as bad as she was she deserved better. The EU representatives on the program came out of it looking fair minded and balanced and they showed a far greater sense of affection towards the UK than I imagined from reading the media reports of the events. The guy who put forward the argument that the German car industry would not dream of making any demands because of the greater need for EU co-operation in a cultural and historical sense makes a point I really had not considered at great length, mainly because I suppose those with the ego's always assumed the German car industry would put there profits before the good of the EU and the media always side with the ego's not the practicalities.
It was quite a sober watch and I came out of it with a grim realisation that we as a nation have been manipulated in a way we have not been since the farcical times of the Iraq war debate. We are at the mercy of charlatans and whether you support Brexit or not that is not a good place to be. I didn't vote remain, I didn't vote leave, I abstained because my preferred option of greater EU integration and a federal EU was never an option. After last nights program I am more convinced then ever that we need to re-evaluate the whole episode and either leave with no deal or stay and push for a fully Federal EU with an elected President, a powerful elected legislature and a system of regional parliaments. The remain/status quo position is untenable, a second referendum would only serve the ego's and we deserve better than what we have been given.