Let’s see in how many we love you… Britain and the Brits have always been popular and loved in Europe, for various reasons, some of them entirely irrational. Brits were seen as cultured and elegant, the perfect gentlemen – legacy of the time when rich nobles made their grand tour, while the yobs stayed home tilling the land. The situation has changed since, somewhat, but it’s not too bad. Britain always punched above its weight within the EU – because of the language, but also because of the skilful diplomats and the prestige the country enjoyed – rightly or wrongly, but it did. I have worked with a lot of Brits (not in the EU) and I often noticed that they enjoyed more prestige than they actually deserved, simply because. I am personally a life-long Anglophile, as I married an English girl. All this to say the Britain and its citizens enjoyed a lot of prestige and influence. The UK has always been an awkward EEC then EU member but, again, it got away with things that nobody else would, simply because of its prestige and respect. But it was never enough, they always wanted more, simply to show off with voters at home, how tough the leaders were with the puny foreigners out there. It’s very wearying, but you still got away with it – and you could have carried on forever abusing the rest of the EU membership, had you not matured the misguided notion that everybody was out to get you and that you needed to show them. You know the story of the referendum – you’ve made up your mind, you want a divorce. So don’t be surprised if the abused and reviled partners have grown somewhat impatient and say now: Shit or get off the pot. If you want to stay and play nice, you are most welcome, but if you want to leave showing two fingers to everybody else, bragging how superior you are, then just do it and go. Is it affectionate and clear enough? I repeat, nobody hates Britain but, please, make up your mind and stop abusing the EU members, who really don’t deserve it, whatever fairy tales Boris and Farage may have sold to the gullible populace. And, while at it, stop trying to destroy the EU which you so much dislike, just because you no longer want to be in – others still do and they are not necessarily criminals or idiots, just because they are not you.