For Wales: Communities fruiting with resources from the Senedd, Development Council grants and citizens’ visions and work.
For UK: Weakened DUP and emboldened SNP put more pressure on HoW to grout chasms of Union with Wooden Willy and Dirty Harry’s Families visiting the Etonian Hinterland. UK health insurance markets sold to US Private Equity monopolies for final economic shot in arm for dying US along with benefits of emptying ageing armaments stocks into other countries.
For Europe: Diem25 build on successes in Greece. Union will continue to face emboldened Nationalism as the under 80s struggle to not repeat patterns of the 1930s in an increasingly unequal society borne from austerity and the emergence of the dead dog the US Fed is propping up on the US Repo markets to the tune of 100s of billions of dollars since November 2019.
For US: Shows of Hard Power as Chinese Soft Economic power builds on the Outposts of the dying Empire. UK health insurance markets bought by US Private Equity monopolies for final economic shot in arm for dying US along with benefits of emptying ageing armaments stocks into other countries.
For China: Maybe forced to accelerate diversion from SWIFT and US Treasury holdings as a country with long term economic plans gets sick of Trump micro deals and u turns.
Jan 25 Year of The Rat
Bloody Interesting Times, tch.
Benedict
Happy new year to you too!
For me 2019 was a tough year and I’m glad it’s over – the Brexit negotiation’s repeated debacles and the general election have been exhausting. I’m heartbroken that the Conservatives are still in power, and that a half baked and probably harsh Brexit is looming. I would like to look forward to 2020 being a better year than the last but I’m not sure about that. Political madness seems to reign around the world and our democratic processes, outdated and broken as they are, are under threat.
I allowed myself a day after the election results to grieve and be angry, and then decided to pick myself up, look after myself, support other people, and keep on being kind. It’s the only thing I can do to weather all the external factors I have no control over.
Kindest regards,
Noreen
2019 ended cruelly — like a drawn out game of Jenga the tower got higher and higher only to come crashing down. It all went wrong when the opposition parties failed to agree a government of national unity allowing Boris to get his revised deal.
So we are with a Conservative government with an overall majority of around 80 seats, but just 43.6% of the vote. Whereas the combined progressive parties it was 52.2%.
We are now going to get a Brexit that polls suggest is not supported by the majority of the people. Issues like under investment and climate change will still be ignored
2020 bring back hope — the main lesson from 2019 is that Proportional Representation is a necessity and that all progressives should work towards that.
My advice for the parties.
Labour: Learn the lessons of defeat. You can’t do it alone — work with other parties. Stop using neoliberal as a catch-all insult and stop blaming the mainstream media for all your problems.
Plaid Cymru: The results were worrying in post-industrial predominantly leave areas and this needs attention. You need to get people in all parts of Wales discussing what could be achieved by independence and contributing to a future constitution.
Greens: You need to up your game and aim for at least one seat in the next Senedd elections. You should reverse the decision to stay as an England and Wales party.
Liberals: Never go into coalition with the Tories again.
DiEM25: Keep pushing the international aspect despite the Brexit fiasco and the rise of the far right. Cooperate with all progressives.
Dani
2019 proved to what some would say was the end of left populism and the rise of right wing nationalism into the mainstream. Of course the whys and wherefores can be debated and blame can be dished out for years to come. It is clear that something has to be done differently. We have no time, no resources to ruminate. Our differences must be cast aside quickly and a collective effort forged towards reason. The integration of the Labour leadership with our DiEM luminaries was clear to those in the movement.
However the great failure was the tentative nature in which this was adopted which led to it being invisible to the public. For 2020 we need to go full steam ahead towards 2025. My personal opinion is to abandon the late 90s social democratic tendency within the left and the overtly liberal individualism which proves indecipherable to a large majority of the working class.
This will be hard as many of us fight passionately for our individual issues which are close to our hearts. We have to bravely abandon them or resign to an infinity of failure in a perpetually uncertain world. In its place the elevating of total global capital reform to top priority from all ends of the left spectrum. The route cause. All other issues must take second place.
anon (diem member)
Cymru - Wales 