As today's dawn breaks and begins to sweep away the cobwebs of sleep/last night's hangover, the realisation grows that this is really a new year and the old one has passed away, never to return.
In this morning's clear light, we begin to decipher, dimly, what lies ahead.
No New Year's Day is like another and this year's is particularly ominous, at least seen from today's point of view.
The first issue we see ahead is Brexit. In two weeks' time, the British parliament is called to pass judgement on the deal
Theresa May struck with the European Commission.
The common opinion is that this deal will be thrown out, even if there is a vast effort afoot to scare MPs with a no-deal scenario and make them scurry to vote May's deal.
If the deal gets thrown out, the search will then be on for alternatives. Again, the received opinion is that no possible alternative seems to command a majority in the House. Which is why many are coming round to the idea, a constitutional no-no, of going back to the people with another referendum.
The whole issue is shrouded in the unknown, what can happen. As for us in Malta, the outcome is similarly unknown but we can be very negatively affected both as regards our tourism and our commercial relationships. There is very little we can do so we are at the mercy of events. Nor have we been successful in attracting British business to relocate here.
The next cloud in our sky is what happens to the European economy of which we are a tiny fraction. Twenty years after its birth, the euro has survived the 2008 crisis but it is not yet strong enough to become one of the world's great currencies. Changes have been made but it is commonly accepted not enough changes have been made.
Meanwhile, the economies of the great countries are faltering, beginning with the German economy. As for France, the repeated Saturday protests by the Yellow Jackets have destabilised the country, leading President Macron to break the laws of Europe in a vain attempt to satisfy the Yellow Jackets.
We have all seen what has been happening in Italy where the new government had to bow down to European pressures and postpone the majority of the social measures it was elected to implement. Yet we do not know whether the new measures will kick-start a dormant economy or not. As regards our country, we seem destined to carry on with our bickering and continual polemics and with the deep dose of hatred that has one again come to the fore in the past days. People seem to prefer their political bias to reasoned arguments, the rule of law and ethical principles.
As from today, people resume their normal lives and from tomorrow resume their work, the outcome of the new year will start to unravel. Mainly, we have to remember, the new year will be what we fashion it to be, for us and for those around us.
from The Malta Independent http://bit.ly/2QfztwN
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