United we stand, divided we fall

THE rise of nationalism and the swell of anger directed at immigrants and refugees in Germany fills me with apprehension and reminds me of the 1930s, when nationalism led to the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War and the Holocaust.

Angela Merkel has had her wings clipped and will no longer dominate German politics as she has done for the past 12 years. At a time when the EU requires strong leadership to curb the growing power of the far right, the UK is split down the middle and can’t make up its mind what Brexit means, and now Merkel will be fully engaged in maintaining the status quo in Germany, rather than worrying about Brexit and reform of the EU.

My fear is that this situation could lead to a hard Brexit and the break-up of the EU itself. Europe is in danger of once again being dominated by the far right and becoming a hotbed of nation states competing with one another but too weak to defend themselves in an increasingly hostile world. The end of the EU would be a disaster for the whole of Europe. The winners would be the US, Russia and China.

For more than 70 years the EU has helped maintain the peace in Europe and used its economic and political power to negotiate favourable trade deals worldwide. EU membership has also benefited the UK, for example: the co-operative projects on science, education, and the environment; workers’ rights; the many foreign investors coming to the UK to gain access to the single market; the right to work, study and travel anywhere in the EU; prioritising Wales for special treatment to the tune of £4bn up to 2014, and the introduction of decimalisation. Who in their right mind would want to go back?

So why are we on the verge of throwing it all away? After all, history teaches us that united we stand, divided we fall. Bryan D Prescott Caerphilly