By Britt Nelson

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.

England’s rejection of the European Union has sent shock waves around the world, affecting financial markets from Hong Kong to New York while sending United States presidential candidates and world leaders scurrying to come up with explanations about why? Before the national referendum, opinion polls in the United Kingdom showed voters wanted to stay with the EU, but they were wrong.

In the months leading up to Thursday’s vote in the United Kingdom, two movements took hold: To ‘remain’ or to ‘leave’ the EU. Counting the votes in 382 voting precincts took all night, but on Friday morning the results were clear — the ‘leave’ movement won 52 percent to 48. The vote also revealed that Scotland wanted to remain in the EU while England desired to exit, which signaled a possible future breakup of the millennia-old United Kingdom.

The unexpected revolt by voters against the EU caused the value of the British Pound to drop to its lowest level since 1985. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wall Street also fell by 610 points on Friday.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon vowed to hold a historical national referendum in Scotland to break away from the UK and remain in the EU, but as a sovereign nation.

The EU was fully established in 2002 and is comprised of 28 political and economic sharing countries primarily in Europe representing a population of 508 million people, according to Wikipedia.

Leading the ‘remain’ movement in Great Britain was Prime Minister David Cameron who, following the vote, promptly announced he would resign, preferring to allow new leadership take England into a future without ties to the EU. Cameron said he would leave office by October; however, EU leaders based in Brussels are calling for him quit sooner and let the process of separation begin right away, according to various news reports.

EU leaders are worried other counties may follow England’s departure and collapse the EU altogether. The EU’s policy of open borders within its nations has been cited among the top reasons for the British vote to exit. Another reason is that the British people wanted to regain England’s independence from Europe and to go it alone, like they have done for centuries. Still another reason was to have better leverage in free-trade agreements with Europe and beyond.

France may be the next country to vote on leaving the EU, CNN reported on Saturday.

In a jaw-dropping and amazing, timely appearance, presumptive Republican candidate and New York billionaire Donald Trump showed up in Aberdeen, Scotland on Friday morning, just as Americans were learning of the British vote to leave the EU. There he was on a pre-scheduled business trip to officially open the all-new Turnberry Golf Resort and show off the renovation of a majestic lighthouse and hotel built in the early 1900s, and overlooking Scotland’s western Atlantic coast. There could not have been a more beautiful backdrop.

After being welcomed by hilarious protests, Trump quickly seized the political power play of the week. He spoke calmly, with confidence, and without flamboyance.

“They want to take their country back. They want their independence … I love to see people take their country back,” Trump said to hundreds in attendance, but televised worldwide to millions. “I think there are great similarities between what happened here and my campaign. People want to see borders. They don’t necessarily want people pouring into their country that they don’t know who they are and where they came from.”

Trump predicted other EU counties may follow England’s lead.

“This will not be the last,” Trump said in Scotland, according to an ABC News story. It should be noted that the Scottish people largely voted to Remain.

Later on Friday, President Obama released a statement about the English vote and America’s commitment to the UK.

“The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision. The special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is enduring, and the United Kingdom’s membership in NATO remains a vital cornerstone of U.S. foreign, security, and economic policy,” said President Obama is a statement released by the White House website. “So too is our relationship with the European Union, which has done so much to promote stability, stimulate economic growth, and foster the spread of democratic values and ideals across the continent and beyond. The United Kingdom and the European Union will remain indispensable partners of the United States even as they begin negotiating their ongoing relationship to ensure continued stability, security, and prosperity for Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the world.”

Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also released a statement on the EU exit:

“We respect the choice the people of the United Kingdom have made. Our first task has to be to make sure that the economic uncertainty created by these events does not hurt working families here in America,” Clinton said. “We also have to make clear America’s steadfast commitment to the special relationship with Britain and the transatlantic alliance with Europe. This time of uncertainty only underscores the need for calm, steady, experienced leadership in the White House to protect Americans’ pocketbooks and livelihoods, to support our friends and allies, to stand up to our adversaries, and to defend our interests. It also underscores the need for us to pull together to solve our challenges as a country, not tear each other down.”

Petition actions are underway in the UK by the ‘remain’ forces to pressure the British Parliament to debate conducting a second vote on leaving the EU. It’s unknown at this point whether or not those efforts will be successful, but it sounds like “too little, too late” because the English people have spoken. Remember John Lennon sang: “Let it be.”

About the Author

Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.