TODAY I travel to Germany and I am bracing myself for the inevitable Brexit-related sarcastic jokes and comments I usually encounter during my visits.
In German mainstream opinion Brexit is sad and bad. The inability of British politicians to agree among themselves a way forward is seen as proof that "this is what you get when a country falls for nationalist, populist promises and propaganda". The prevailing view is that being a "good" European means to condemn Brexit, otherwise one belongs on the far-right scrap heap.
Yet there is a grain of truth in the perception that the British "don't know what they want" and that some arch Brexiters are uncomfortably close to hard-right EU sceptics elsewhere in Europe and beyond. Nigel Farage's re-emergence will reinforce and give validity to that position.
For the sake of our reputation I wish our leaders would for once ignore the shrill voices from the fringes and the tribalism in their own ranks. Coalition is needed in the national interest, not continuous threats of Cabinet walk-outs and the carry-on of unproductive votes in parliament which, to the outsider, do look ridiculous.
Is a grand coalition on the issue of Brexit really asked too much? If other countries can do it, why can't we?
Regina Erich,
Stonehaven.
NEXT week we have the European Parliament elections (traditionally one of low turnout, and one that we did not expect). Typically I hear the reasons for not voting in the EU elections being “I don’t know much about the EU” or “It’s too distant to seem relevant” and yet we as a nation are avid supporters of the European Union if you follow Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP rhetoric.
Of course, that rhetoric from Ms Sturgeon overlooks the one million people in Scotland who voted for Brexit in 2016 (including a sizeable amount of her own SNP voters).
I voted for Britain to have the freedom and flexibility to make its way in the world. To be an ally of Europe without being tied to such a convoluted political structure as the EU. I also hope that with the flexibility to shape our international trade deals, Britain can become a true champion of fair trade throughout the world (setting up fair partnerships with the developing world, as well as with the most innovative international markets). Hopefully we can further strengthen our friendship and cooperation with the English-speaking Commonwealth nations.
Something that I also feel can be further developed is a fair and sustainable immigration system that does not, by design, favour EU citizens over people from the rest of the world (it really should be a system that is fair to all).
Democracy, and fairness, is always a worthy cause.
Peter Campbell, Dundee.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here