She hasn't succeeded, Theresa May. Even after the changes and adjustments, the British Parliament voted down, by a large majority, the deal she proposed to remove Britain from the European Union after the British voted in favor of Brexit.
The EU is based on economic, diplomatic and military interests; and yes, also on the fear of the evil damage of nationalism that the world in general and Europe, in particular, suffered during the first half of the 20th century. But patriotism isn't nationalism. European citizenship does not give ordinary citizens the identity that their people's culture, language and history do.
The economic elite in England, as well as most of the intellectual elite, wanted to stay in the EU. What is happening here involves a lot of money, as well as the delusion that pan-European citizenship turns you from another national chauvinist into a citizen of the world.
But the masses chose differently. They wanted to restore their unique national identity, as it has been shaped over the past thousand years. Patriotism has returned to the public sphere after being marginalized, not to mention oppressed, for many years. The waves of unchecked immigration woke it from its slumber. It's hard for ordinary citizens here to escape the sense that immigration is blurring what had been built with hundreds of years of hard work.
May understands that. She made a keen observation when she said in 2017 that "today, too many people in positions of power behave as though they have more in common with international elites than with the people down the road, the people they employ, the people they pass on the street. But if you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere. You don't understand what citizenship means."
But none of that helped her when the time came to translate the will of the people into a practical decision. This is the second time she has been defeated in Parliament. The matter of the border between Northern Ireland – which is part of the U.K. – and the Republic of Ireland remains unsolvable. The price of the move, combined with the rhetoric of threats from economic officials, also played a part.
Opinion here is split about what steps to take next. There is opposition on both sides of the political map. It expresses different views and only the vote itself unifies it. May's battle is not over and the supporters of the EU and the supporters of Britain leaving the EU are still feeling each other out. The awakening patriotism hasn't had the last word.
We'll wait and see.
