Salut!

Boris my Boris: the miscalculations of a Brexit par calcul, or more calculations afoot?

Let down by his naked ambition, royally shafted by Michael Gove and other Tous Sauf Boris schemers, Boris appears to be licking his wounds. But are appearances deceptive? Gove wins the leadership, May wins it ... what matters if, as I suspect, any Tory successor to Cameron is bound to fail? ...

Once we've got the hang of joined-up writing, riding a bike and learning to swim, most of us find we can get along perfectly well with people who hold opinions different to our own.

Boris Johnson's politics are not mine. He is a tribal Tory, I'm tribal Labour (it didn't used to matter if, say, you worked for one of the better Tory-supporting newspapers provided you did your job properly and the allegiance, mild or pronounced, did not get in the way).

Saying sorry. A Brexit postcard from France

From the June 29 edition of The National* ...

Le Lavandou, France // Earlier this week, I impulsively posted a tweet in French, apologising on behalf of Britain’s “electoral hooligans". Two weeks before that I had posted a similar tweet, apologising for the vile conduct of England football hooligans at the Euro 2016 tournament.

My response to last Thursday’s referendum was mostly a tongue-in-cheek gesture to lighten post-Brexit gloom. But it was also something of a labour-saving device.

As an Englishman who is married to a French woman, spends nearly half of each year in France and believes the European Union has broadly been a force for peace and relative stability, I seem to have spent a lot time since last Friday morning saying sorry to the French.

Brexit wrecks it: into the unknown

A displaced people on the move. With thanks to Bill Taylor's for bringing the to our attention: http://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2016/06/24/thousands-of-british-refugees-make-dangerous-journey-across-the-irish-sea/. Truth has got a lot closer to the satire in the days that have passed ...

Here is my analysis of the vote* to leave the EU, what it means and what it may mean elsewhere in the community ...

For some it was an occasion for sadness and concern, for others a source of thinly-veiled relief. For Eurosceptics in some European Union countries, Britain’s decision to end 43 years of membership served as an inspiration.

“It is a victory for liberty," declared Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far right Front National (FN) who joined her Dutch counterpart, Geert Wilders, in demanding referendums for their nations.

Both the FN and Mr Wilders’s Freedom party are deeply anti-Islam and interpret the outcome of the British vote as a response not only to EU encroachment on national sovereignty but also its failure to cope effectively with large-scale immigration, chiefly from Muslim countries.

Britain, formerly of Europe: dark humour on a dark day

Some of us, but not a majority unfortunately, believe Britain has made a terrible mistake. But the deed has been done and the rot, I am sad to say, started in Sunderland, with that whopping vote for Leave early into the count.

I hope Stephanie Perez, one of the France 2 reporters whose work I admire, enjoyed her trip there though I suspect she found Edinburgh, today, more convivial. And for their sakes, I hope any Nissan workers in Sunderland who actually voted for Brexit don't find the choice rebounds on them with a vengeance when the company looks again a investment decisions.

EU referendum: maybe wrong to be swayed by Jo Cox's murder, but if I'd needed one more reason to vote Remain ...

Of course you're for Remain, said my old friend and colleague Michael Smith at Facebook. "Your wife is French and you live in France." Or words to that effect.

I take the "of course" as being the most pertinent part of his comment, though Mick is also for staying. Marriage and a shared life between London and the Var may have an effect, especially a subconscious one, but I reached my decision easily without thinking of either.

Dave Swarbrick, fiddler exemplaire. Gone before his time, gone now. Rest easy, Swarb

I reported the death of Dave Swarbrick, one of my favourite musicians, at Salut! Live on the day he passed away. Here are some additional thoughts, plus clarification of the geography and other factual details with the help of Swarb's widow, Jill ...

Strange bedfellows: what Italy's Virginia Raggi has in common with Europe's far right

Stop Press: Virginia Raggi romped to victory with a massive 67 per cent of the vote in the second round of polling on Sunday June 19 ...

Many eyes will be on Rome on Sunday night when voting ends in the second round of the election that will decide whether the anti-establishment, anti-party Virginia Raggi, representing the Five Star Movement is to be the Eternal City's first female mayor. She will not thank me for saying this but much of the reason for her appeal is the same as the much of the reason for the far right's appeal. She is different, against the system, removed from the mainstream political groups that have lost public trust to the extent that electors are increasingly willing to support radical alternatives. Five Star is named after its core issues; these are mostly to do with environmental matters. The listed five do not yet include courtesy, which is just as well since repeated approaches to the movement for comment and/or access to Ms Raggi were simply ignored though I even offered the services of my Italian-speaking elder daughter in case there was a language problem)
.

This is my debut for the IB Times news website which can be seen at this link ... ...