Googling ‘EU’ after exiting it

If the barmy upswell of characteristic British wit is anything to go by, Brexit has not made much of a difference to the life of the average Briton who has no particular like or dislike for the European Union (EU).

A headline in a U.S. newspaper put it succinctly, “The British are frantically googling what the EU is, hours after voting to leave it.”

As the pound plummeted and doomsday predictions scared the daylights out of many, there was this woman who said she voted for “Leave” without even knowing what Brexit is.

“Even though I voted to leave, this morning I woke up and I just … the reality did actually hit me,” she told a television channel. “If I’d had the opportunity to vote again, it would be to stay.”

In Twitter exchanges, apart from the storied British ability to laugh at themselves, the old rivalries with the French shone through.

The

piece de resistance was, “The English are really a proud and stupid people. You’d think they were French.”

As the two national teams may meet in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, many questioned whether the English side still can participate.

“Let’s kick out the England team. They don’t have visas,” went one tweet.

In #Brexit in five words, many users kept a tight line: “Baby, I Brexited the kids”; “More like the divided kingdom”; “Thank you for Scottish independence”; “James Bond will fix this.”

And the diplomats in the thick of things were not pulling any punches. “We are off now to an Irish pub to get decently drunk. And from tomorrow on we will again work for a better #Europe! Promised!, tweeted @GermanForeignOffice.

One reply went thus: “If only you’d gotten decently drunk and worked on a better Europe earlier!”

The French too wanted to join in. “Can we at @francediplo come with you,” asked @Vincentlieser.

While immigration fears partly explain many Britons’ choice to exit, some are trying to leave the kingdom for greener pastures. One nation in their sights is Canada, going by the number of Google searches.

And the talk has now veered around to Grexit, Departuagal, Italeave, CzechOut, Oustria and Finish. And it seems, only Remania will stay!