newBROOM Breaking News

New National Referendum Reported
(Edinburgh) Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, avidly announced the imminent intention of renewing the referendum for Scotland’s independence from the United Kingdom.
She said that crucial conditions had changed completely now that the mean majority of citizens in the UK vilely voted to leave the European Union. Sensible Scotland, by contrast, voted for staying safely in the Union – well, the European one at least.
The last referendum, set for the 700-year-anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn in 2014, ended with Scotland staying a part of the United Kingdom. However, the clear pro-European focus of Scottish politics now might mean a brutal break with Westminster, where Euro-scepticism reigns. Maybe the vote to leave the European Union will also mean the end of the United Kingdom. (BC)

 

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June 1st – The Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland, the world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel, has been opened.
June 2nd – The German Bundestag declares the 1916 massacre of the Armenian people committed by the Osman Empire to have been a genocide. Turkey protests at once. But what else than genocide can describe killing a whole people?
June 10th – The European Football Championship starts in France. People are afraid of terror attacks, but so far the worst danger was posed by idiots called hooligans.
June 16th – British Labour-MP Jo Cox is assassinated in the street because she supported the pro-European campaign.
June 17th – In Germany, an overseer from KZ Auschwitz is sentenced to prison. The man is currently 94 years old and was judged for helping in the genocide during the 1940s.
June 23rd – The United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union. Turkey prepares leaving before even being admitted.
June 24th – Muggle Prime Minister David Cameron faces the consequences of Brexit and announces his own withdrawal from office.

Brexit

(London) The voters of the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union on June 23rd. And now the wizarding community also has to face the consequences of the so-called Brexit.
Author J. K. Rowling said she wanted magic now more than at any other time of her life – but somehow we doubt that magic should help in politics. First of all, tampering with voters’ opinions violates the principles of democracy. Every voter has the right (and the duty) to decide upon his own principles. And no, democracy is not always the easy way, and sometimes the voters vote for people or ideas that others feel are utterly wrong. But: It is democracy, and everyone has a vote, no matter if they are very clever or as thick as two short planks.
Plus, magical politicians are not better at politics than Muggle ones. After all, Minister Fudge was not exactly a political mastermind, and his successor Thicknesse was even worse (admittedly he was under the Imperius curse). Our current minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, has a hard time now trying to sort out the mess left behind in the aftermath of the wars. So just how magic could have helped against the outcome of the referendum is not clear – unless you had put a curse on all voters…
Anyway, we have to sort out relations with the continental European wizarding ministries just as well as the Muggle politicians have to. This means that there will be consequences, even with basic things like potions ingredients. Possibly, continental magical products will get more expensive because of toll fares. And on the other hand, British magical products will be more expensive in the EU. Schools will have a harder time forming twinnings; the same applies for magical communities.
But one thing will not change, and somehow we feel that it might be necessary to remind people of it: Resistance Rocks! (BC)

Can magic save Europe?

(London) Brian Cullen had the pleasure of talking to Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt about the current crisis in Muggle politics.
BC: Kingsley, you must be incredibly busy these days.
KS: Well, every person responsible for running a community is. But you are right, ever since the outcome of the referendum was published we’re showered with owls asking about consequences for the magical world.
BC: There must be some consequences at least.
KS: There are loads. Think, for example, of competitions like the Quidditch European Cup, or the Triwizard Tournament. The regulations need to be adjusted. Trade regulations which had been dealt with by the European Union’s High Commissioner for Magical Affairs need to be adjusted. Exchange programmes between the magical schools in Britain and on the continent need to be changed in terms of rules and laws applied. It’s chaos, basically, and it will need a lot of time to sort out.
BC: We heard that Muggles wish for magic to solve their problems now.
KS: They always want magic and think that waving a wand can solve everything. We know better, of course. Magic cannot solve political crises. We could of course have intervened before and put all the voters under an Imperius Curse, but that’s highly illegal. Basically, any magical intervention in politics will damage democracy. Democracy does not always give you the hoped-for results, but it is the best way to organise living together.
BC: That’s pretty frustrating! The young people are especially shocked because they wanted to stay in the EU – they saw the perspectives there, job-wise, education-wise.
KS: And we now have to find ways to placate them, to keep doors open for them. By the way, the idea of stopping immigration by leaving the EU is ridiculous. Let’s face it, a lot of the refugees coming to Europe come from former colonies. My own ancestors came from the colonies, and they were given the right and the opportunity to live here, in peace. Of course others want the same opportunities. How can we deny that to them when British colonial rule is the root for so many evil developments around the world?
BC:You’re absolutely right. So, what can we do now?
KS: We must deal with the situation and try to get the best outcome still possible for the wizarding world.
Brian left the Ministry of Magic feeling deeply uneasy but also quite relieved that a sensible Minister like Kingsley Shacklebolt was dealing with the crisis and not an idiot like Kingsley’s predecessors. (BC)