The result of the UK's referendum is nothing short of total disaster, and there are no positive aspects whatsoever. With Scotland voting solidly to stay in Europe - along with London and Northern Ireland - the break-up of the UK is a virtual certainty, with Scotland leaving and England bitterly divided internally. Further break-up of the EC seems possible and a period of financial turmoil for all of us, in Europe at least, seems to be inevitable.
It was all so unnecessary. David Cameron called this referendum - not to obtain some advantage or improvement for the British people but simply to appease the loony right-wingers in his own political party. And now the vicious dog he let loose has turned round and bit him. His strategists were totally unable to predict the extent to which the "Little Englander" mentality would re-assert itself, with all its xenophobia and thinly-disguised racism. This phenomenon was eagerly seized by the "out" exponents who fed the growing intolerance with gross exaggeration and outrageous lies. Add to this the bitterness of people sick of politicians in general; sick of the massive inequality in the UK; sick of the poor being squeezed while the wealthy get tax-breaks. These people wanted to give the party in power a good kicking, and decided the best way was to vote to leave the EC.
So David Cameron is already gone; George Osborne (chief finance minister) cannot be far behind. A general election in the very near future seems probable, and the
extreme right, as personified by Nigel Farrage - with all his racism, ignorance and teenage-fantasy policies - can scarcely contain his excitement, and no wonder. His "independence party" will be easily the main beneficiary of this swing to the right.
But even before this we will have a new Conservative Party leader (and therefore Prime Minister - the one who has his finger on the nuclear trigger) and the pundits are saying that one man now looks unstoppable - the horror - the terror - Boris Johnson, the worst buffoon ever to get into the upper echelons of UK politics. He is not only a buffoon, however, and his buffoonery is largely an act, to be adopted whenever he deems it to be advantageous. It is part of the armoury of a clever and extremely cynical man who sees manipulation of the "lower orders" - demagoguery - as his route to power. Of course, in the event of Johnson becoming Prime Minister, it would not be long before his dupes would discover the truth behind all his exaggerations, evasions and distortions, but by then it would be too late.
Indian saddhus - holy men - have been predicting that the "Kali Yuga" - the age of Kali, the destroyer - is almost upon us. Perhaps they are right.
