To contest, election candidates must accept they can lose

What you need to know:

  • Britain is close to losing his job as the world’s financier, but like everyone else he would rather eat humble pie and justify his decision.
  • According to prominent politicians there, Danish people would be happy to withdraw from the Union before yielding to European parliamentary or judicial pressure.
  • Pseudo-leaders are already advocating violence, division, destruction and disobedience, and some political aspirants claim they will not accept losing.

Europe is in trouble. First it was Britain, now France, Denmark, Italy and possibly Germany itself later this year. Europe’s future is in the hands of democracy, a democracy wrestling with its own identity.

The continent's disintegration is predictable, progressive and unavoidable. The crisis is a deep lack of purpose and knowledge, and constant tension in the search for a new identity.

Europe is like an old person who complains of the weather and the neighbours. She cannot understand why people do not look at her as they did when she was young and beautiful.

She wears modern clothes and heavy makeup but cannot hide the passing of years on her face anymore.

According to some experts, you can calculate the age of countries following the “dog” system. To know how old a dog is in comparison to a human being, multiply the biological age of the dog by seven. In the case of countries, divide the country’s age by 14.

'HER OLD STRUGGLES'

One of Europe’s older sons, Britain, recently left the estate in tantrums. He wanted freedom, his money and his inheritance and did not want to continue sharing house expenses with lesser, lazier brothers like Greece, Portugal or Romania.

Things have not worked out, and Britain’s wife, Scotland, is threatening to divorce him. “How could Britain dare to leave such a good estate?” Scotland asks. She is filing a divorce so the estate can allow her to return, alone. Better alone than badly accompanied, she says.

Britain is now in a worse economic situation. He is close to losing his job as the world’s financier, but like everyone else he would rather eat humble pie and justify his decision.

Europe, in her crankiness, keeps blaming her woes on the migrant crisis, the Euro, the bureaucracy and the Greeks, but seems unaware of the fact that her biggest problem is not migration, bureaucracy or the Greek economy.

Only a change of attitude can save Europe, but such change requires self-reflection and getting to the root of the problem, which she does not appear ready to do, blaming everyone but herself.

Europe has forgotten her old struggles, the pains of her youth. Her desires to reach out are long gone.

JUDICIAL PRESSURE

Time will not solve Europe’s woes. She needs to find herself once again, to rediscover what brought the continent together. That is impossible without a change in her leaders' attitudes. Countries, laws and policies do not change on their own. Leaders must direct this change, and it begins with them.

France’s Marine Le Pen says France will stop immigration and consider walking out of the Union, which would mean the end of the EU. Nationalism in Europe is on the rise and the continent is closing in on itself through populist nationalist tendencies.

According to the BBC, in Finland, The Finns managed to get 18 per cent of the votes in the last election, the Sweden Democrats 13 per cent, Holland’s 10 per cent and the Swiss People’s Party 29 per cent.

Hungary’s Jobbik rose to 21 per cent, Austria’s Freedom Party hit a dangerous 35 per cent and the Danish People’s Party 21 per cent. The worrying trend is on the rise, election after election.

Denmark has closed its border with Germany, fearing a possible spillover of the million migrants Germany has admitted. Pressure is mounting on Denmark to reopen them and this could eventually develop into a Dexit.

According to prominent politicians there, Danish people would be happy to withdraw from the Union before yielding to European parliamentary or judicial pressure.

DESTRUCTION AND DISOBEDIENCE

In our complex world, we need level-headed leaders who are both magnanimous and humble, men and women of character, integrity and self-control, leaders who think of the country and the common good before their own petty ambitions and political advantage. 

Europe’s political and identity crisis has accelerated in the past 10 years. It has taken time, but the cancer of division is slowly shattering the dreams of the Union’s founders.

Kenya will go through this same crisis in just a few months. The year 2017 will be a make-or-break year for the country; it will prosper or shatter. 

Pseudo-leaders are already advocating violence, division, destruction and disobedience, and some political aspirants claim they will not accept losing.

Whoever is not ready to lose will never win. There cannot be a patriot without the possibility of being a traitor; one cannot be a hero if one cannot be a coward, a one cannot be a saint unless one could also be a devil.

So, whoever is not ready to lose should abandon the race. Nobody who is not ready to lose can win.

Dr Franceschi is the dean of Strathmore Law School. [email protected]; Twitter: @lgfranceschi