At the launch of Marta Andreasen's book 'Brussels laid bare' the person introducing the author suggested that the people who thought that the European Union could be reformed were dreamers. Having first listened to Marta Andreasen talking about her book 'Brussels laid bare', I couldn't help responding to the charge.
Telling him that I would be standing as a Libertas candidate at the forthcoming election, I admitted to being a self-confessed dreamer, but felt duty bound as a former soldier to remind the assembled crowd of the words of T E Lawrence who said:
'..but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.'
And that is exactly the point, our eyes are open. It does not take Marta Andreasen (whose courage is admirable) to tell us what is wrong with the European Union; we know all that. The challenge and real opportunity is to find a solution, which the medium of the first truly pan-European party offers. Eurosceptics would have it that nothing can be done, but as the language of defeat and withdrawal hung heavily in the air, I couldn't help thinking that people were crying out for the language of 'can', the language of a solution, which sits at the core of the Libertas message.
Reconnect the European project with its citizens and I believe anything is possible. Does that mean Libertas is calling for some great monolithic monster of an EU. Absolutely not, otherwise Libertas would have not bothered to champion the 'No' vote so successfully in Ireland. What Libertas wants very simply is something that chimes with and inspires the citizens of Europe, whose voice has been ignored with dangerous and alarming frequency.
Whether or not the message got through to the not insignificant amount of genial UKIPers and Tory grandees is anyone's guess, but it did provoke a response from Lord Tebbit, who has subsequently come out and said people should not vote for a mainstream party in the European elections, by which I assumes he means Libertas. So, a chord had been struck afterall.
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Hi Robin,
ReplyDeleteI used to think that the EU was unreformable because I could not see how any National party could do it.
This is different. A pan - European party stands a chance I believe if enough support is earned.
I think there may be some confusion because Declan states many times he is in favour of the EU. If the EU were reformed in the ways Libertas want, I would call it European Alliance or European Community. It would be a different entity than a Union.
Would you agree or have I misunderstood the message?
Robin,
ReplyDeleteYou say in your introductory video that you look forward to engaging with anyone leaving comments. I've just checked back to Apr 14 and no replies from you. If you say you want to engage, please do so. I wrote the previous comment on this post and am disappointed there is no reply, nor to others'. I understand you are very busy and appreciate that, but I think you need to engage.