Photo Source Óglaigh na hÉireann | CC BY 2.0
The Irish just elected their President. But who cares? No one – least of all the Irish. History has ruthlessly disappeared the Irish nation state, so the idea of an Irish President is anachronistic. Consequently, in Ireland, the Irish Presidency now provokes more embarrassment and laughter than respect. Nonetheless, the Irish establishment reproduces itself without a second thought – as if time and gravity don’t matter. Like Irish banks, the Irish state is dead but continues to move. Why?
Europe today is not a game of thrones but a game of charades. Everything is pretense. Fictitious capital is the reason. And the result is fictitious politics The economic crash of 2008 changed everything. Or killed everything. The European Union to start with. Followed by the Europe’s nation states. History moved forward so forcefully in September 2008 that Europe, a decade later, is still trying to catch-up with reality. Until it does so, charades is all it has.
The new European reality is unreality. Its one of illegitimate power and unnecessary subservience. Its a fools game. The democratic, national and continental charades try to distract the eye from this naked truth. However the feeling of shame is inescapable. As is the feeling of entrapment. Voting nationalist or voting for a president or for exit may momentarily cover the abyss, but within seconds, reality bites: Europe is a tool in the hands of global capitalists. And no…