Шотландский референдум: серьезное предупреждение для Европы
The Scottish Referendum: a Serious Warning for Europe
Dr Paul Jorion
(http://rueclementmarot.blogspot.co.uk/)
Whatever else may be said about the extraordinary exercise in energetic participative democracy which has just drawn to a close in Scotland, it can hardly be said to have gone un-noticed, as it has disturbed the neighbours by inspiring dissenters of various stripes throughout Europe and beyond.
One of the more interesting foreign commentaries on the Scottish independence referendum (and the alarums and excursions to which it gave rise) is to be found in the influential French-language blog of the Belgian anthropologist and financial expert Dr Paul Jorion, of the Free University of Brussels, where he lectures on the stewardship of finance. The author of the blog post in question is Jean-Michel Naulot, and it is entitled The Scottish Referendum: a Serious Warning for Europe.
According to Mr Naulot, the people of Scotland have just scored a victory over the UK state (and its neo-liberal austerity regime) and are allowing it an opportunity to reform itself before deciding whether to give it the coup de grâce:
"In the end the Scottish referendum was won by the unionists. The victory of the No camp was secured after very important concessions were extracted from David Cameron in the final days of the campaign. It is as if the Scottish people have just said to him: 'All right, you can have a stay of execution to give you a chance to prove yourself . . .'
Towards the end of the campaign the British authorities seemed at last to take seriously the silent revolt of a people who have just demonstrated once more, in an exemplary manner, with a massive voter turn-out, that the referendum is a magnificent instrument for forcing a ruling elite to sit up and take notice and for enabling a society to take its destiny into its own hands. This is what is lacking just about everywhere in Europe at the present time.
This referendum is a serious warning for all the European states which are paying scant attention to inequality inflicted on various territories as a result of the financial crisis and which pay little heed to inequality in general. From the era of Margaret Thatcher through to the administration of David Cameron the British political class has focused its attention on the City of London. Its solidarity with the financial-services industry has grown since austerity was imposed in 2010, but the pigeons have now come home to roost. [...]" (Référendum écossais : un sévère avertissement pour l'Europe, par Jean-Michel Naulot, Blog de Paul Jorion, September 19th 2014)
To read on (in French) click here.
Dr Paul Jorion
(http://rueclementmarot.blogspot.co.uk/)
Whatever else may be said about the extraordinary exercise in energetic participative democracy which has just drawn to a close in Scotland, it can hardly be said to have gone un-noticed, as it has disturbed the neighbours by inspiring dissenters of various stripes throughout Europe and beyond.
One of the more interesting foreign commentaries on the Scottish independence referendum (and the alarums and excursions to which it gave rise) is to be found in the influential French-language blog of the Belgian anthropologist and financial expert Dr Paul Jorion, of the Free University of Brussels, where he lectures on the stewardship of finance. The author of the blog post in question is Jean-Michel Naulot, and it is entitled The Scottish Referendum: a Serious Warning for Europe.
According to Mr Naulot, the people of Scotland have just scored a victory over the UK state (and its neo-liberal austerity regime) and are allowing it an opportunity to reform itself before deciding whether to give it the coup de grâce:
"In the end the Scottish referendum was won by the unionists. The victory of the No camp was secured after very important concessions were extracted from David Cameron in the final days of the campaign. It is as if the Scottish people have just said to him: 'All right, you can have a stay of execution to give you a chance to prove yourself . . .'
Towards the end of the campaign the British authorities seemed at last to take seriously the silent revolt of a people who have just demonstrated once more, in an exemplary manner, with a massive voter turn-out, that the referendum is a magnificent instrument for forcing a ruling elite to sit up and take notice and for enabling a society to take its destiny into its own hands. This is what is lacking just about everywhere in Europe at the present time.
This referendum is a serious warning for all the European states which are paying scant attention to inequality inflicted on various territories as a result of the financial crisis and which pay little heed to inequality in general. From the era of Margaret Thatcher through to the administration of David Cameron the British political class has focused its attention on the City of London. Its solidarity with the financial-services industry has grown since austerity was imposed in 2010, but the pigeons have now come home to roost. [...]" (Référendum écossais : un sévère avertissement pour l'Europe, par Jean-Michel Naulot, Blog de Paul Jorion, September 19th 2014)
To read on (in French) click here.