“Still, as I’ve said, if the Scots wish to withdraw from the UK, that is their prerogative (my background is Welsh). I fear they will pay a heavy price, but conservatism in the rest of the UK will get a very large boost electorally.”
I don’t disagree entirely.
Still, what exists today is not what will exist after the birth occurs.
In regards to a heavy price, I think potentially the heavy price will be less than a decade. Looking around the globe, there are big opportunities to sell North Sea energy to the EU and a very big opportunity to fill the vacuum left by Switzerland. This will depend on dumping some leadership and following a strong leader who can inspire change. Raw nationalism is never enough and a transition will have to occur. That is not to say it will not be difficult or take a decade or longer. Or that the changes will all be good.
I would rather see more small countries than large trouble-making countries.
BTW, according to Marty Armstrong, we are in the rise of the independence cycle. He predicted the events in Scotland long ago. It is certainly interesting to watch it all unfold.
Interesting. Of course the value of oil is a fluctuating one, and I would not advise pegging the future of a nation’s prosperity on that alone. Your point about ‘many small nations’ is not one that I disagree with, but I’m afraid that in the current climate, a small nation is far easier for the EU to swallow and digest, than a larger, more powerful one.
We live in interesting times.
I think the canny Scottish people probably will vote ‘no’ next week, but the Catalan issue rumbles on. At least David Cameron offered the Scots a referendum. Whither, Spain?
What happened to Switzerland? I can almost see it from my house (in a Sarah Palin sense) and it looks to still be there.