Brexit was certainly a shock to the system last summer. Many, if not most of us, simply didn’t see it coming. With a voter turnout of 72% in the United Kingdom, just under 52% voted to leave the European Union and the British exit from the EU was officially on.
According to former World Bank Chief Economist and Vice President Lawrence Summers, Brexit was the first incident in a wave of extremist right-wing populism that is making in roads in the United States (Donald Trump electoral college victory), Germany (Neo-Nazis have returned to parliament) and France (Fascist party performed better than they ever ever).
You don’t have to be a former U.S. Treasury secretary though to have been completely shocked by the Brexit voting results though.
In a newly released book entitled On the Brink: A Modern Journey Across Football’s First Frontier, Klopp recapped his shock when he first heard the Brexit news while on holiday in June of 2016. It surprised him to a degree of such magnitude that he initially thought it was Euro 2016 results being discussed.
“It was last summer. I was on holiday. I woke up in the morning. The European Championships were being played in France. We had friends in the house.
“I walked into the kitchen and someone said: ‘England is out.’ I thought: ‘Good, our boys will be back earlier for preseason…’
“In this moment, I had forgotten that England did not have a game. It was a one-second reaction. Suddenly, ‘What?’ I couldn’t understand. Of course, everyone has the right to make a decision — left or right, that’s the way it is.”
“But is 51 percent really enough to make an important decision, especially when only something like 70 percent of the population voted? Why did the remaining 30 percent not vote? For me, it’s a misunderstanding of democracy, but, what I will say also is I’m really happy to be here at this moment of my life because I can see both sides.
“I can see that the EU has not done a perfect job but I have always thought if you try to do things together you are stronger. If you do it alone, I’m not sure what happens.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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