On Friday, as the dust was just beginning to settle across a Europe that would be dramatically changed by the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the 28-member European Union, some began to push for still more disintegration.

In Holland, Geert Wilders, a right-wing leader, tweeted: "Hurrah for the British! Now it is our turn. Time for a Dutch referendum!" In France, Marine Le Pen, head of the National Front, an anti-
EU party, called for a referendum there.

No one knows exactly how the U.K.’s move will play out. All that’s certain is uncertainty. Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation, but said he’d be sticking around for a bit as an effort to right the ship of state.

In Brussels, the capital of the union, bureaucrats had no plans at all. Amazingly, they’ve not even sketched out a view of how best to proceed if the British move to depart had been successful.

It’s important to remember that the dream of a united Europe began in the aftermath of two world wars that left so much of the continent destroyed. Coming together – economically and politically – would, it was hoped, make great wars a part of history. Europe would solve its problems at conference tables, not on the battlefield.

That’s still the dream, but it’s all of a sudden a whole lot more complex.

In Scotland, where voters two years ago rejected a move to split from the United Kingdom, there was an immediate push on Friday to have another go at it. The move would strip Scotland from the U.K. but keep it in the EU.

And leaders in Northern Ireland were talking up similar plans.

The pieces of this puzzle won’t likely soon all be falling into place.

Who will step up to fill the void that will be left by Great Britain’s departure from the union? Germany, of course, is the most likely candidate, though those with particularly long memories (or a knowledge of European history) are often not a little wary of an ascendant Germany.

There is simply no way to know what Europe will look like tomorrow. Or two years out.

Don’t throw away those old maps just yet, as they may soon enough be valuable historic artifacts.

– The Republican
(Springfield, Mass.)

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