Former U.S. President Bill Clinton seems to have overcome recent issues he had with certain European Union (EU) Member States, penning a piece for a left-of-centre news weekly which tells British voters to reject the temptation to vote for Brexit in the upcoming referendum.
Writing for the website of a magazine which boasts of its “progressive politics”, “scepticism” and “free thinking”, President Clinton trotted out the standard establishment arguments for a rejection of Brexit in favour of the status quo in the EU referendum taking place this month, declaring: “I hope you will stay.”
Claiming in his New Statesman piece that “Europe is strongest when it is united”, President Clinton did concede that the “decision on Europe is one for the British people, and the world will respect their judgement.” However, he then added his pro-EU voice to that of President Obama with the finger-wagging warning:
They should know, however, how much America and the rest of the world have valued – and continue to value – a strong United Kingdom playing its full part in a strong European Union. Transatlantic co-operation is essential, and that co-operation is strongest when Europe is united.
President Clinton identified a temptation to see isolationism as an answer to what he describes as “a tumultuous world, marked by slow growth, excessive inequality, massive refugee flows, and sectarian violence,” claiming “we’d all like to have the benefits of global interdependence without the burdens.”
However, he believes that those “disruptive forces” are inescapable, meaning “co-operation and collective action are much more likely than withdrawal and isolation to produce prosperity and security.”
He then appears to suggest that Britain’s size and considerable achievements do not present a path to sovereign independence, but are instead what make membership of the EU so essential, explaining:
For a nation as large, diverse, and successful as the UK, there is no escape from the growing pains and contradictions of the 21st century world.
Nearing his conclusion President Clinton writes that as an admiring and affectionate long-time fan and ally of the UK he has “seen the difference your leadership has made both within the EU, and as a leading representative of Europe throughout the world,” and ends hoping for that to remain the case.
President Clinton’s cheerleading for continued British membership of the EU made no mention of the severe criticism he recently made of certain Member States within it.
As Breitbart London previously reported, he chided Hungary and Poland for their rejection of mass Muslim migration, suggesting it means they reject democracy and want “Putin-like” authoritarian dictatorships.
In response, Jarosław Kaczyński— Chairman of Poland’s governing Law and Justice party — said: “If someone says there is no democracy in Poland today, that means he should have a medical test.”
Mr. Kaczyński’s comment was received well by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán but it remains to be seen if there will be a reaction from Brexit campaigners towards President Clinton’s latest intervention in European politics.
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