Diary

Saturday, 14th May 2011

Cory Bernardi opens his Diary

I have read and heard so much about the radical social and economic changes that have taken place in Europe in recent years that I have ventured here to see them for myself. It is the best part of two decades since I lived and worked on the continent, so I am sure my assessment will be tempered through age and fond reminiscence of a life before politics.

The English seem to be in the grip of a growing Euroscepticism. Who can blame them? The EU is a political behemoth which I am informed directs somewhere between 54 and 82 per cent of domestic laws. I put down the disparity in my multiple informants’ assessment to the fact that apparently 92 per cent of statistics are made up on the spot. Including that last one.

The discussion over migration is not limited to mainland Europe. England, too, is feeling the impact of more than three million arrivals since 1997. Community concerns regarding the changing nature of Britain are widespread. Questions regarding the changes to social cohesion as a result of migration policy provoke an animated response from taxi drivers, politicians, police officers and people in the street. Eerily, they all end with a similar refrain: ‘Don’t let this happen to your country, mate.’

You can tell a lot about a man by the cut of his suit. When the particular individual is fit and athletic-looking, while his suit has suspiciously baggy sections, the educated conclusion is ‘professional security’. The tailored bulges allow for a ‘concealed carry’ without drawing undue attention to the hardware beneath. The subtle appearance of two such individuals in the lobby of the Amsterdam Hilton late on a Saturday morning indicated that my luncheon companion must be near. I wait a few more minutes before concluding that, there being only two security guards, my guest must have been escorted into the hotel restaurant through a side entrance. After all, his regular protection detail is a dozen such escorts.

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