The only news that matters today
http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/wahl-in-bayern/Do you remember how support for the moderate political parties collapsed post '98 in the North. Same thing happening in Germany. All thanks to Merkel. But Germany, unlike NI, actually matters. Especially as this is what all you pro EU people are shackling yourselves to.
The collapse of the SPD vote is the mostly startling. Now #4. Just three times the Linke vote.
Although the parallels are not exact reading this book..
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1626540187/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0.. should be a sobering experience for those who think the future of the EU is all wine and roses.
All the interviews I've read about the reasons why the working class and lower middle class voters are voting AfD is eerily similar to the reasons given for the collapse of the moderate parties back in the late 1920's. The big parties more interested in federal parliament politicking than listening to the concerns of the average voters.
I know the French, for one, are starting to do the balance sheet for the EU status quo and are preparing to bolt if and when the situation arises. This is the end game. The discussion is out in the open in Italy but is now starting to be discussed in the Netherlands and the nordics.
Would not be the first time Ireland painted itself into a corner by needlessly antagonizing traditional friends. I'm reminded of the League of Nations fiasco post '44 and the very public international humiliation of '46. Another of those great moments in modern Irish history you dont read about in Irish history books.