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Did I say "never joining"? I said it was not imminent (it isn't) or guaranteed (and it isn't). Nobody lied to Turkey. They know there are economic, political,
by bemusedthrow75 3y ago
Did I say "never joining"?
I said it was not imminent (it isn't) or guaranteed (and it isn't).
Nobody lied to Turkey. They know there are economic, political, social etc. targets that they have to meet before they progress to EU membership.
I've been a candidate for lots of things I didn't get. Haven't you?
They first applied in 1987, 29 years before the Brexit vote. It has been more than seven years since that vote.
The very Wikipedia page you're pointing at shows how badly it is going for Turkey after we left. Basically, the process is as close to ended for good as it can be. Turkey is less likely to succeed in joining the EU than the UK is to rejoin.
And everyone knew how serious those problems were, particularly regarding human rights, and the direction of travel.
The Leave campaign absolutely lied about Turkey's chances of joining, because only the spectre of Turkey being a member soon fit with the idea of Syrian refugees fleeing across the border into, thus, the EU, from their very current conflict.
It was never close to true.
- archsurface 3y agoDid the remain campaign point it out?
- bemusedthrow75 3y agoThey did, repeatedly, at the time. And the scurrilousness of the leaflet was pointed out, too. But xenophobia sells.
- rwmj 3y agoIt was the pointing out which was the problem, as it brought prominence to the lie. There were plenty of other lies too, the one about NHS funding was especially egregious.
- vkou 3y agoSo, here's the thing about lies. If I start shouting to millions of people that you've been beating your wife, there's literally nothing you can say to undo this damage. If you deny it, you'll just bring further attention to the lie. If you ignore it, I'll keep bringing further attention to the lie. Politics only works well when everyone follows some basic decorum.