Brexit Disrupts Nonchalant European Union Meddling

by Malcolm Lowe • July 13, 2016 at 5:00 am

In respect of the Palestinian problem, the European political elites have only the means to destabilize the status quo without installing an alternative. But Israel's leaders can take heart. Any declarations made at French President François Hollande's conference will be unenforceable, because the EU on its own lacks the means and because its energies must now focus on stopping its own disintegration.
The underlying reasons for Brexit and for EU disintegration in general have still not been widely understood. Brexit was not merely a vote of no confidence in the EU but also in the UK establishment. Similar gaps between establishment and electorate now exist in several other major European states. In some cases, however, governments are united with their electorates in detesting the EU dictatorship in Brussels.

The glaring discrepancy between the UK establishment and the electorate explains the establishment's quick acceptance of Brexit, for fear of becoming totally discredited. Pictured above: Theresa May launches her campaign for leader of the UK Conservative party on July 11, 2016, saying "Brexit means Brexit."

The June 23 vote by the United Kingdom electorate to leave the European Union should be seen in the context of two other recent European events. Three days earlier, on June 20, the EU's Foreign Ministers Council decided to solve the Palestinian problem by Christmas with its endorsement of French President François Hollande's "peace initiative." Three days after the vote, on June 26, the second election in Spain within a few months failed once again to produce a viable majority for any government. Worse still, the steadily rising popularity of nationalist parties in France, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands suggests that political paralysis in other EU countries is on the way.