>>2609723Comrades, The consequences of “Brexit” have had and will have a profound impact of the lives of working people both within the British state and of course in Ireland, north and south.
And it is having a profound impact upon the European Union itself. The British, Irish and international media have been attempting to distort the motivations behind those who voted to leave as some sort of right-wing, racist rejection of the EU. But the world view that no level-headed, liberal thinking person could possibly support leaving the European Union is now being questioned throughout the EU.
“Brexit” was not and is not just a right-wing phenomenon. The spread of right-wing ideology throughout Europe is a direct result of the left having run away from anti-imperialism, leaving the way open for right-wing populism, as expressed by Trump, Le Pen, and Farage.
The decision of the people of Britain to leave the European Union is posing great difficulties for the EU and has caused panic also in the Irish ruling class. Their subservience to the three centres of power—in London, Brussels, and Washington—has them in a state of extreme confusion.
Sinn Féin, which previously opposed European integration, opportunistically campaigned in the North of Ireland on the “Remain” side, thereby allowing themselves to be co-opted into the strategies and mechanisms of control of the Irish establishment and the European Union. Left-reformist “critical engagement,” as now advocated by Sinn Féin, is welcomed inside the tent.
The parties of the Northern Ireland Executive, far from seeking more powers over the economy, prefer to hand authority back to the British state, so fearful are they of taking responsibility for the policies, dictated by the British government, which they are implementing. The unpopularity of these policies, which hit hard at the working class, has already damaged Sinn Féin’s political support.
