You have to admire the shameless, brass-necked dishonesty of the BBC’s delusional reporters as they discuss the possible collapse of the, their, European Dream. A dream that the BBC has given fulsome support to with endless, relentlessly pro-European reports that were intended not to shine a light on events in Europe but to persuade a critical and dubious British Public of the EU’s benefits.
Here Gavin Hewitt tolls the bells for the possible death-knell of the EU…read it and your mouth will just gape wide open at the way he reports with a straight face all those doubts people had about the EU, immigration and Islamist’s in our midst but which the BBC spent years trying to playdown, cover up and deny…..
Is the European project falling apart?
An unwinding rarely has a start date. It settles in over time. It is an erosion, deceptive, slow at first, and then it is all around you; old certainties crumbling; the believer’s glint dulled; the claim on destiny weakened.
In just a matter of months, the idea of Europe has been unwinding, buffeted by successive crises; the Greek drama, the columns of migrants; the terror attacks.
So how does the unwinding reveal itself?
It can be glimpsed in the edginess of European officials.
In the confessionals: Sweden, declares its prime minister, had been “naive” about Islamist extremists.
[In the confessionals eh?….many a BBC journo should join them after having been such enthusiastic backers of the Islamist narrative]
It is an era defined by the stripping away of illusions.
[Let’s hope so……the BBC’s own biased illusions most of all…perhaps we can get some honest reportng about the EU from now on]
The terror attacks in Paris exposed layers of deceit and wishful thinking.
Europe’s borders were not secure.
The extremists had moved around Europe’s passport-free borders – guaranteed under the Schengen agreement – undetected.
[F**king cheek ….The BBC has been the chief cheerleader for mass immigration and open borders, and went so far as to try and deny there was any danger from Islamist Jihadis coming into Europe with the migrants so desperate were the BBC not to allow anything to give a reason to put controls on immigration….the BBC were happy to see terrorists enter Europe even if it meant mass murder…as happened in Paris.]
Schengen was more than just an agreement; it was an article of faith that there would be freedom of movement between 22 of the EU’s member states.
But recent weeks have laid bare the flaws. Returning citizens with EU passports were hardly ever checked against watch lists or security data bases.
But civil liberties trumped security.
[Yes they did…..liberal arrogance got people killed]
Change at last
Now belatedly change is coming.
[What? The BBC is now the cheerleader for change in Europe and secure borders….FRO]
Even before the Paris attacks, Europe’s discomfort had deepened with the migrant crisis.
For Angela Merkel this was the latest great test of the European project; refugees were to be welcomed as a reflection of European values.
She was first baffled and then angered by the refusal of other countries to see it that way. They resisted the burden-sharing of quotas.
The attacks in Paris did have a link with the refugee crisis.
Most mainstream politicians correctly resisted the suggestion that migrants were potential terrorists but the fingerprints of two of the Paris bombers were recorded at a checkpoint in Greece in October.
[Ahhh…it’s all the politicians’ fault…the same politicians that the BBC lauded as they welcomed millions of immigrants to Europe, as they told us Islam was a religion of peace, as they told us of the peace and prosperity the European Union would bring us]
New realism
Europe, stripped of some of its illusions, is already engaging in a new realism.
The Europe of values will shortly try to clinch a deal with the increasingly authoritarian President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
[The Europe of values…ironically the very values that are at most risk from the immigrants being allowed into Europe]
Plenty of those who support the deeper integration of Europe now say that officials and leaders allowed dreams to get ahead of reality.
Quite simply, if Europe cannot provide security then voters will demand the nation states step back in. The old slogans will not suffice.
A harder-headed Europe will have to emerge that protects people and delivers jobs and security.
[Laugh, laugh loud…isn’t this the same BBC that tried to malign the Front National leader’s policies as ‘typically hardline’…
Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right opposition National Front party, has taken a typically hardline position in response to the attacks.
And here’s a whole article from only two months ago designed solely to portray Le Pen and her policies as somewhat odious…
Is Merkel a recruiting sergeant for French right?
“It [uncontrolled mass immigration] is welcome for all the xenophobic parties of Europe, who can say that what is happening now is not immigration. It is an invasion from the Middle East.
“And if, God forbid, there were to be a terrorist act carried out by someone who could be shown to be from this mass movement, then that would play into her hands still further.
“We can expect a lot more of the fear factor as the elections approach.”
[An invasion from the Middle East by millions of Muslims? Can’t say Le Pen would be wrong if that is what she said.]
The biggest irony is that it is the BBC’s, amongst many others’, own deception of the public, its own self-deception on immigration and the European adventure that has led to this crisis, both in immigration and the EU as an idea. Promoting open borders was always going to be a disaster and lead to anti-immigrant feeling and then ultimately to bloodshed. The BBC’s refusal to report straight on the EU and to arrogantly sneer at the sceptics, going so far as to label them racists, was never going to be a successful strategy long term and only bred discontent and distrust over Europe.]
Douglas Murray in the Spectator has also noted the change of tune on the Left…
‘One minor point of interest to me over recent days has been watching some survivors of the left who have spent the last decade attacking anyone who has written on terrorism and Islamism now beginning to talk like old pros about Islamism and terrorism. You’d almost think they’d spent the last decade addressing these issues, rather than trying to shut down anyone who did address them. I suppose they’ll make some running of it and bluff along for a while, but these people seem to me little use to anyone.
Why should anybody feel cowed by accusations of ‘racism’ from a political side led by Jeremy Corbyn? The answer is that very soon they won’t be. So the left’s moral authority on racism seems to have gone. And any remaining authority on security or foreign affairs now looks likely to follow. All of which is wonderful news for the right. But I would say that it is beginning to look terminal for the left.’
There is a Have Your Say on this article.
The general concensus seems to be rather negative towards the EU!
Surely there are not that many BBBC commenters who post on both, can there?
“Most mainstream politicians correctly resisted the suggestion that migrants were potential terrorists but the fingerprints of two of the Paris bombers were recorded at a checkpoint in Greece in October.”
Interesting use of the word “correctly”, – not to indicate accuracy or successful contact with reality, but only ideological approval of the politicians’ position despite the fact that they had been proven wrong by events. When does doublethink become insanity?
Exactly Imda! The word ‘correctly’ shows ‘Doublethink’.
….they correctly came to the wrong conclusion….. ???
Oh how the leftoids at the BBC are struggling to reshape the narrative.
BBC. Big Brother Corporation.
I am not sure that the “doublethink” within the left wing/europe supporting institutions is a deliberate act. Rather I believe it is the result of an intellectual arrogance that they are always right and will always be right because they are cleverer than everyone else (Alan Yentob is a prime example). Therefore they are more entitled to have their views respected because they are more right than us lesser mortals and probably they dont even need to bother to check whether their opinions contradict themselves cos they are always right ! No need to worry about migrant numbers because people are dying and we are always right !
The BBC being cut from the same cloth laps this up and revels in it . Where they are correct however is that the population as a whole dont give a flying F*** until the SKY subscription goes up in price or the next X Factor series is cancelled then they may possibly wake up to what is going on in the real world – I just hope its not too late -Right!
– Until “the SKY subscription goes up in price or the next X Factor series is cancelled then they may possibly wake up “.
Have you ever met a Millwall supporter? When “The Kraken Wakes” I suspect the enrichers may have a surprise.
I thought you were describing Guardian readers in your first paragraph.
But then there is usually less than a fag paper width between the view of the Guardian and that of the BBC
We will never be at peace as long as there are Muslims in the UK. Sharia is the goal of every Muslim who calls himself a Muslim. Their numbers are increasing rapidly.
1.High birthrate
2.Continued immigration
3.Family unification
4. Spouses fetched on a regular basis from abroad.
If Muslims are asked if they support Sharia, they answer evasively that Sharia is only for Muslim nations. But the answer is clear. Once they are a majority in any part of the West, Sharia is inevitable. Sooner or later, they will be numerous enough to install Sharia via parliament. This will be the end Western civilisation.
There really is no solution except to admit that it is impossible for any non-Muslim society to live in peace, and without fear of sharia, with a Muslim component. Sooner of later, once the Muslim demographic is large enough, terrorism kicks in, and the inevitable sharia.
Like many, I used to love travelling by air. Not so anymore. Muslims have totally ruined what is one of the greatest pleasures for humans.
Hopefully you will support a move towards no state cash benefits for more than two children.
Should also help to reduce the number “born into poverty”
I would not expect the move to get any support from the BBC.
The old “Have you been affected by the governments latest meanness” adverts would be out promptly, trawling for the most negative examples to use.
I hope you are right No7 – Chickens always come home to roost in the end.
Talking of surprises I was both depressed and amused at the same time by an article in todays Mail Online covering some of the effects of this refugee influx into Germany. It mentioned a Refugees Welcome Party in Germany which was spoiled by some of our new European citizens making themselves at home by sexually harrassing some of the females present ! – Crikey who would have thought …………..No jelly or ice cream for them then !