10 great things about Europe

Is it too late for me to change my mind about Brexit? Joking. I’m joking. Of course I haven’t changed my mind. I’m pleased, like a quite a few Reaction readers, that this morning Britain is out of the EU, an integrationist organisation that was never going to work long-term for the grumpy British.

By leaving we have taken the audacious step of joining all those crazy countries – Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Australia, Chile, South Korea, the United States, Israel and so on – who make their own laws.

As we embark on this adventure what could possibly go wrong? Quite a bit, obviously. The government Boris Johnson runs must negotiate a deal with the European Union, invest in the North, introduce policies that improve productivity dramatically, rebalance Britain, improve the UK’s constitution and democracy, save the Union by persuading Scotland not to leave, boost our military, plot a distinct foreign policy, and at speed turn back the “woke” tide in British institutions.

All that in five years when the global economy is overdue a downturn. French growth has dipped according to the latest figures out on Friday  down 0.1%, as against an anticipated plus 0.2% in the last quarter. These numbers will be revised, of course. But even so, it is worrying. France is stalled. Germany, which is an export powerhouse, is vulnerable to the aftershocks of the virus crisis in China which will slow growth there. Major Chinese cities are in lockdown with strict government rules designed to arrest the spread. In this context, in Britain, we are about to undertake a complex series of manoeuvres which will pose major challenges to business.

Nonetheless, British business confidence is rising. There is finally some certainty, or a good deal more than there was during the nightmare exacerbated by ghastly Bercow and the People’s Vote crowd last year.

The government is relieved to see confidence returning. Ministers hope it turns into a flood of investment because to pay for all his plans and definitely win re-election Boris needs a boom. The Bank of England was very gloomy this week in its assessment. Look out if there is a recession, Boris will run a Heseltine-style splurge on infrastructure funded by more borrowing. A boom now would be better.

All of that, and the next phase of the talks, can wait a few days. Britain has left the European Union and we should let that sink in.

Some Reaction readers will be sad that it has happened at all. In acknowledgment of that sadness, I’ll close with a list of ten great things about Europe and try to stress that it is okay. We have left the EU, not Europe. They are not the same.

Quite a bit of my top ten is about wine, but don’t let that put you off.

1) Wine. Yes of course non-European countries produce wine. The best American wine is under-rated. There is even a rumour that the Australians now make wine. But for its exceptional depth of quality and fabled history nothing can beat the European greats. Whether it is claret, or Gigondas and the other best wines of the Rhone, or good Rioja, or pale-pink Provencal on a sunny day, or bone-dry Riesling from Germany, or the dizzying number of wonders from Italy, European wine is the business. Of course English fizz is getting better and better. Production is small, and it will grow. But we’ll drink it alongside French (as we have for centuries) and Italian and Spanish. Here’s to European wine.

2) The Dutch.

3) Sweden. For several years now good Swedish friends have invited me and a bunch of other lucky Brits to the Swedish countryside in high summer to talk about Brexit (and other matters) in front of an audience gathered to consider great philosophical questions and enjoy Swedish hospitality. The non-Brits explain art, history, culture, technology. With admirable patience and good humour the Swedes have listened to the Brits of various persuasions go through the therapeutic flow of talking about our interminable crisis. Thank you, Swedes. It helped me. Sorry you had to listen to us.

4) The Romans. Got as far as Bearsden in Scotland, took a look at my fellow-natives and sensibly put up several large walls.

5) Spiral. I’m not a fan of Netflix and Amazon Prime digital box sets. They go on and on, hour after hour, eating up life. Why not get a good story and try to bring it in at around two hours or so? Call it a film. The exception is Spiral, the seven series Parisian cop drama. Damn, the team are cool. The production values are so high it makes most British crime drama look like Juliet Bravo. Younger readers, Google that. Juliet Bravo I mean.

6) Spain. Just Spain in general. The galleries, the smart people, the football, the design culture, the cured meats. Spain. And yes, Portugal is great to.

7) Germany. Always Germany.

8) Richard Strauss. As death approached, the composer finished with a few final songs. There were three. After his death  the resourceful British music promoter and Straussian, Walter Legge, added another late song on the basis that four last songs sounds better than three last songs. These elegiac meditations on nature and life drawing to a close were premiered in London in May 1950. Just five years after the end of the conflict that tore Europe apart, a Norwegian opera singer, Kirsten Flagstad, and the outstanding German conductor, Furtwangler, and the London Philharmonic, came together to put on the first performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Reconciliation through music.

8) Most of France.

9) All of Italy, other than the bad bits.

10) The Greeks. Then, and now.

Oh and one more…

11) Britain. Britain is in Europe. It still is. The EU is a relatively new political construct. We’ve left that and remain in Europe. The continent’s rich history of which we are part is measured in centuries. For us to leave Europe, the continent and civilisation, would be a geographical, culinary and cultural impossibility. Thankfully.