The straining chords of oratory
Mahmudur Rahman writes for DOT :
It’s a pity that in the days when parliamentary discourse gave rise to magnificent exchanges of oratory, live Media was unable to disseminate it further. Enthusiasts unable to be present had to meet their thirst by pouring through the sentences penned by parliamentary reporters. Bangabandhu’s unprepared 7th March speech was fire and brimstone as it was a guideline for what was at the time an uncertain future. Sir Winston Churchill’s brilliant and defiant speech that took the war to Germany is another unparalleled one. It was therefore, with a mix of good and bad feelings that one watched the British Parliamentarians debate and comment on the Brexit deal that Theresa May wants her parliament to approve. True, few had had the ability to read through 500 odd pages of the divorce document but it didn’t stop them from voicing an overall concern by almost all and sundry. Inspite of repeated attempts, Ms May’s pleas to consider the document in the national interest rather than highlight deficiencies were ignored by all save a few. As she succinctly put it no one has come up with a worthwhile counter proposal Leavers and Remainers alike. And that after nearly single handedly responding to commentsfor nearly three hours on the go.Nigel Farage whose now almost disintegrated UKIP party was among the stars during the Brexit referendum campaign too, hasn’t come up with an alternate option.
There seems to be utter confusion. If there’s no deal there will be chaos; the European Union has made it clear it will offer no further concessions; the prospect of remaining within the EU would be going against the wishes of the electorate and those seeking another referendum can’t see between a clear ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
By and large Parliamentarians have grudgingly condescended to applaud Ms May for sticking to her envious task even though she faces both a challenge to her leadership and an almost impossible job of getting parliament to pass the proposal. But the deliberations lacked all the character of proper debate beyond mere signals of disapproval. There’s time yet for the proposal to be changed and brought back but the British are missing a key factor in that this is a tripartite agreement between the British Parliament, the people and the EU. Like it or not there are legal obligations that won’t go away and the days of having one’s cake and eating it too has gone.
There were no signature debates from one of the best democracies of the world. Division has cut through in irreparable ways that will have dearer prospects for the future.Integration brings down borders but the opposite is both difficult and strenuous. Leaving a single market without a hard border or backstop might be difficult to swallow but it won’t go away.