A Song for Europe

Since I saw that Donald Tusk, president of the EU Council, had said - in a remarkable outburst of hyperbole - that a British vote for Brexit "could be the beginning of the destruction of not only the EU but also Western political civilisation in its entirety", I've had that REM song going continuously through my head:

"It's the end of the world as we know it
And I feel fine"

Actually, Donald, the thing that worries me is that the EU has 3 presidents, which possibly tells you all you need to know. I hadn't heard of Tusk until recently. There is also the president of the European Parliament (Martin Shulz - no, me neither), and the president of the European Commission (the one we have heard of, Jean-Claude Junker). But the real problem is we can't get rid of any of them through the ballot box.

Shulz is an elected politician, rather than an appointee. But not elected by all of Europe, he's an MEP chosen by his fellow MEPs. Which quite possibly means he's off a proportional representation list and we know what that gets you: the risible and egregious English Neil Hamilton as leader of the UKIP group in the Welsh Assembly. I'd quite like to see the end of this particular world.

I've seen other musical references in the referendum debate. The Eagles Hotel California lyric "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave" has been quoted in terms of the single market, the context being that we might negotiate to remain in it, still being subject to making budget contributions and freedom of movement, so it wouldn't really be like leaving.

But the one that really got my attention was in a column by Andrew Mitchell in the Sunday Times - yes him, the chief whip who lost it with the Downing Street rozzers because they wouldn't let him cycle through the gates. To my surprise he quoted the Clash's number one hit (on the back of the Levi jeans ad):

"Should I Stay or Should I Go now?
If I stay there will be trouble,
And if I go it will be double"

Hmm. I was beginning to think that's a pretty good summary, actually. But - d'oh - the idiot has misquoted Mick Jones, who actually sings: "If I GO there will be trouble / and if I STAY it will be double".

He got it the wrong way round! I should have realised that he wasn't really a punk fan. You really can't trust what anyone says in this campaign, can you?

PS No lack of respect for MP Jo Cox intended after the awful events of yesterday. But I don't regard this flimflam as campaigning. And anyway, I still don't know for sure which side I'm backing.