Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 13 augusT 2019
Island or European nation? Rival views of UK shape Brexit

LONDON (AP) — British his- occupation or dictatorship
tory has become a Brexit sets it apart from many of
battleground. its neighbors. But he thinks
British voters' decision three Britain's historical differenc-
years ago to split from the es from the rest of Europe
European Union was fueled are often overstated, and
by a sense that the U.K. is Brexit was driven by more
fundamentally separate immediate concerns.
from its continental neigh- "We certainly had less com-
bors — a sceptered isle, mitment to the whole idea
rather than a European of European integration
power. than countries like France
Brexit-backing Conserva- or Germany," he said. "But
tive lawmaker Jacob Rees- I think attitudes to Europe
Mogg has compared Brexit are not really all that differ-
to historic British military ent in many EU states. And
victories on the continent, I think that has a lot to do
saying "it's Waterloo, it's Ag- with more recent events
incourt, it's Crecy." Brexit such as the eurozone crisis,
Party leader Nigel Farage the democratic deficit in
fires up crowds with air-raid the EU and the fact that the
sirens and the theme from In this file photo dated Friday, March 29, 2019, a pro-Brexit demonstrator holds a British flag with EU has got so much more
World War II thriller "The the words "Leave Means Leave" in front of the Winston Churchill statue in London. important in people's lives
Great Escape." Associated Press and yet they have very little
Such patriotic messages control over what it does."
strike a strong chord in an and mendacious image of multiple connections be- accounts for five-sixths of Tombs argues that at a time
era of surging nationalism. the patriotic British valiantly tween England and the the U.K. population and of international instability,
But anti-Brexit politicians defying an intransigent Eu- continent over the centu- saw the strongest vote to Britain is better off outside
and historians say that rope determined to turn us ries." leave the EU in 2016 — "are the fractious bloc.
view is too simplistic — and into a vassal state." "If you look at our sover- having an existential crisis "I think a relatively cohesive
could end up making the Richard J. Evans, professor eigns, they have been about who they are." and relatively democrati-
U.K. weaker rather than emeritus of history at Cam- variously French and Dutch "I think they lost their em- cally governed unit is much
stronger. bridge University, lamented and German," he said, not- pire and lost being a ma- more likely to be able to
Former Prime Minister Gor- an increasing tendency to ing also how culturally inter- jor world power and they ride out whatever storms
don Brown argued Sunday "talk about Europe as if it's twined Britain is with conti- seem to have accepted may be coming than a re-
in The Observer newspaper somewhere separate, as if nental Europe. that, but I think there has ally rather ramshackle and
that "a destructive, popu- Britain is not part of Europe." Like Evans, University of To- been a lingering sense that unpopular and very weak
list, nationalist ideology" "I went to Gatwick Airport ronto history professor Mar- 'We were once great and confederation," he said.
was leaving the United recently and there's a huge garet MacMillan argues now we're not,'" she said. Historian Andrew Roberts,
Kingdom "sleepwalking into advertisement there for an that Brexit is being "driven Brexit-supporting historians a biographer of Winston
oblivion." airline that says 'Europe is by a very false picture of reject that notion, viewing Churchill, said recently that
Brown, who was Labour closer than you think,'" he the past" and by nostalgia the EU as an undemocratic "the idea that your sover-
Party leader and British said. "And I thought, well, for the days when Britain's obstacle to British sover- eignty effectively belongs
prime minister between it's closer than you think — empire covered a quarter eignty. to somebody else outside
2007 and 2010, accused we're in it." of the globe. Cambridge University his- your country is just unac-
current Conservative Prime Evans said the view of Brit- MacMillan said many peo- torian Robert Tombs says ceptable for anybody who
Minister Boris Johnson of ain as an exception to the ple in Britain — and espe- the fact that Britain did not has any sense of British
"conjuring up the absurd European rule ignores "the cially in England, which experience 20th-century independence."q

Italian Senate cuts short vacation to set no-confidence vote

By GIADA ZAMPANO no-confidence vote in the Zingaretti issued a call for
Associated Press next few days. He's calcu- unity Monday, reiterating
ROME (AP) — The Italian lating that Conte will lose that the key decision on
Senate will return Tuesday and resign, triggering what whether and when to call
from its summer vacation to Salvini hopes will be a new an early election is in the
set a crucial date for a no- election as early as this fall. hands of President Sergio
confidence vote on Prime Eager to become premier Mattarella. He added that
Minister Giuseppe Conte's himself, Salvini wants to go the Democrats are not
populist government. to the polls as soon as pos- afraid of facing an early
That development fol- sible to capitalize both on ballot. But former premier
lowed a meeting Monday the League's rising popu- Matteo Renzi, who still has
of party whips in the Senate larity and the waning sup- a strong influence among
who failed to unanimously port for his senior coalition the Democrats' senators,
agree on the date of the partner, the populist 5-Star suggested Sunday the par-
no-confidence vote. Movement. ty should seek a possible al-
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini Interior Minister Matteo Italy's main opposition par- liance with the 5-Stars and
receives media attention at the end of a political rally as part Salvini declared last week ty, the center-left Demo- other moderate forces to
of his 'Italian summer tour', in Taormina, Southern Italy, Sunday, that his right-wing League cratic Party (PD), is already stop Salvini and derail his
Aug. 11, 2019. party no longer supports divided over its future strat- plan for a new election in
Associated Press
Conte and is pressing for a egy. Party secretary Nicola October.q