Yet another tryst with destiny !!

It's official! Donald Trump will be the 45th President of the United States of America. After a heated campaign witness to a lot of acrimony, comparable to the Indian assembly polls of 2014, America has finally chosen.

Now this again is history in the making. America, for better or for worse has chosen to alter her destiny. America has chosen a rank outsider to lead her for the next four years.

Trump’s victory is in many ways similar to Modi’s emphatic election win in 2014. Though they both come from different backgrounds (Modi was a tea-seller and has risen from a humble background to hold India’s highest office; Trump is the son of a New York real estate dealer and is a self-made billionaire), both took on an established political hierarchy and triumphed in the end, causing major upsets. While Modi is a seasoned politician having been the Chief Minister of the State of Gujarat for more than a decade, Trump is more of a businessman with little political experience.

At close of polls on November 8^th, Hillary Clinton was forecast as the clear winner. But the results next day told a totally different story. A rank outsider took on a powerful political establishment, and won! Many in America are still shaking their head in disbelief. How could this have happened? How did an outsider, with little experience in Politics take on an established and well-oiled political machinery and bring it down to it’s knees? The answer would lie in Trump’s shrewd business acumen. A seasoned politician he may be not, but he and his entourage were shrewd enough to sense the discontentment of the American masses against the current political and economic setup, similar to the manner in which Modi took on the established Congress party. Call it the ‘Business of Politics’ or the ‘Politics of Business’: both Modi and Trump have been canny enough to tap into the discontentment among the masses caused by the ruling elite and convert them to votes in their favour.

Both men took on the ruling political establishment head on and have come up winners (or should I say ‘come up trumps’ J ). Both men knew that their respective countrymen were sick at the slow progress made over the years, at false promises of development, of corruption and nepotism and mainly about economy and employment. Both men promised the one thing which previous Governments’ committed to but could not deliver effectively: Action! And that’s why are where they are now.

To be fair to Hillary Clinton and the Democrats, they planned, organized and executed well. And for a while, it did look like Hillary Clinton was on the road to become the first ever lady president of the United States. Indeed, not many people gave Trump a whisker of a chance. While Clinton was all about ruthless organization and planning, Trump was all about emotion; empathizing the pain points that the average American felt deeply about: namely corruption, job cuts and out-sourcing to name a few. Clinton made fine speeches and ran a perfectly organized and well-oiled political machinery. Trump, on his part mostly came to meetings unprepared, relying on his wit and huge business experience to tackle tough questions. It seemed a risky move but it paid off in the end, as many Americans preferred Trump’s frank and unprepared impromptu honest logic over Clinton’s organized rhetoric.

Trumps’ victory in 2016 and Modi’s win in 2014 show us one thing. People want change and action more than anything else. People are sick of empty words, false promises and the meaningless drivel which seasoned politicians make. People won’t care about your economic or ethnic background, your social status etc. as long as you can deliver the goods.

Modi’s government has already delivered above people’s expectations. The latest masterstroke in his push to make India a global economic powerhouse is the bold demonetization move, scrapping the Five Hundred and Thousand Rupee notes to eliminate black money. And if Modi is to be believed, more is still to come.

The spotlight is in trump now to deliver. One things for sure. If he (Trump) manages to deliver even half of what he promised during his campaign, then no-one will give a shit even about his views on women and other matters. As I said earlier, people want action, and more importantly people want results. Only time will tell whether America’s choice was correct or wrong.

Cheers to Life, Cheers to Democracy and above all, cheers to change!!

Brexit Ahoy !!

It finally had to happen.

In what could very well be termed as one of the most significant moves of the new millennium, last Thursday the United Kingdom voted to move out of the European Union. Given the significant amount of clout Britain wields over the European and world economy, the importance of this move cannot be underestimated.

The world did not take it lightly either. As soon as the decision became public, stock markets across Europe and Asia started tumbling. The Euro and Pound currencies took a huge nosedive and fell to new lows. A pall of gloom descended among British youth and Europe in general. British PM David Cameron stated that he would resign the coming September citing personal responsibility.

But I believe it was an event waiting to happen. In fact, given Britain’s unique and chequered history, this move should have hardly come across as a surprise. Geographically isolated from continental Europe, the British have always viewed themselves as politically and culturally separate from the European Mainland. In that sense, the English Channel separates Britain from Europe in more ways than one. Apart from James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Jeeves, Bertie Wooster, Royal Enfield and Jaguar; the one thing which the British are famous for, the one unique trait which differentiates a Brit from the others is their die hard patriotism and pride in their national identity and their stubbornness to influence from outside culture. It is this pride and stubbornness which made them heroically resist Nazi Germany’s air attacks during world war two. While any other nation would have buckled under the constant barrage of the Luftwaffe, Britain heroically resisted and also responded in kind by bombarding German cities. It helped to turn the tide of the war in no small way. It was this same stubbornness which made Captain Scott persist with his ill-fated quest to find the South Pole despite the numerous odds which were stacked against him. The same stubbornness and British pride which made the captain of the Titanic stay on board knowing very well that the ship was on its’ way to Davy Jones’ locker. All that and the cognizance of the fact that their nation colonized nearly half the planet not more than a century ago has acted in no small way to fuel British pride and instilled a deep patriotic sense of identity among their people.

And this could perhaps the single most reason for Britain to pull out. On the surface, they (The British) do cite valid reasons for leaving the EU. The less than ideal financial condition of the EU(not helped by Greece and the Euro crisis of past years) and the potential economic and employment problems Britain faces from member East European immigrants are pressing concerns. But knowing the British, I would say the single most important factor for leaving the EU could be a deep rooted fear of losing their national identity, a fear of being typecast as ‘One of those developed European Nations’ instead of being known as ‘Great’ Britain, a fear of being relegated to a mere speck on the map of a bigger Europe rather than being known and respected for it’s own.

Whatever it may be, the British have spoken. A rocky path lies ahead, given that they will soon lose all the prized privileges of being a powerful member of the EU and the fact the founding members have not taken Britain’s decision very sportingly. The British will soon have to carve out their own path, not an easy task by any means. To compound matters, Scotland and Northern Ireland have made very clear their preference to remain in the EU. With such complications, the United Kingdom might not remain so ‘United’ in the near future.

But all is not lost yet. Critics and pro-pounders of doom for the British might have just underestimated her strength and determination. In fact, this could be just the tonic the sleeping British economy needs to rouse it from its’ slumber. There’s nothing quite like a hard challenge to perk you up. Spain and France have also given indications to quit the EU, a move which will further weaken union and exacerbate matters no less. And if other countries do follow suit, Europe will start looking like how it was back in the late nineteenth century, with each country vying for financial and economic superiority. Two devastating world wars were the direct consequence of a divided Europe back then. God knows what will happen now.

The full impact of ‘Brexit’ still remains to be calculated and only time will stand proof of the soundness of the move. But there’s no denying the fact that once again the British have created a Big Splash, the ripples of which are being felt the world over. Trust them to stay quiet! I say what ..old Boy!

Cheers to the British!