What Brexit Means to US? Another Trumpian Victory
The former newspaper columnist raised a fuss in April with a newspaper column that described President Barack Obama as "the part-Kenyan president" who may have "an ancestral dislike of the British Empire." That didn't help his Brexit movement allies who were denying that racism had anything to do with their rejection of the EU. I am sure that Johnson and Trump would have a lot to share about race relations.
Economics matter, but racism and other xenophobia typically play a role whenever politics mix with questions of national ethnic identity.
Marine Le Pen of France's far-right, anti-immigration National Front applauded the Brexit vote as signaling a "new air" of patriotism. She also called it a "springtime for the people," which brings to my mind uncomfortable memories of Mel Brooks' dark comedy "The Producers" and its signature song, "Springtime for Hitler."
But if Boris Johnson does become prime minister, he faces big headaches from his fellow members of parliament who are furious with him and the Brexit movement for the economic chaos the vote is certain to bring. He also faces the demands of an impatient electorate that expects to see some positive long-term results from that short-term chaos.
We Americans look on, as the old understatement goes, with great interest. History often shows a remarkable similarity in the political trends of the U.S. and UK. Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher sounded like soulmates as they led conservative swings in the 1980s. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair did the same in the other direction in the 1990s, promoting "third way" policies between the right and left.
Now we see Brexit rising simultaneously with Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Both can be seen as reactions to a changing world. Both are supported mainly by voters who are older, whiter, less urban and more likely to have been buffeted by wage stagnation and economic dislocation.
Those are issues that we hope will be addressed by traditional sensible politicians, before it's too late.
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(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@tribune.com.)
(c) 2016 CLARENCE PAGE DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
