HARBINGER

The new session of the european parliament convened in Strasbourg the other day. And with it,the EU entered the decisive phase of diplomatic/political horse trading to get its new  leaders in place. Ultimately, it is the heavy hitters France and Germany and their mutually respective and fluctuating allies that influence/stage manage /cobble together sufficient votes in the parliament to give their imperial appointees at least some veneer of legitimacy. That by itself would be enough of an otiose event as to preclude anything else that might cause friction let alone excitement among the parliamentary attendees.But no, it was the UK's Brexit Party MEPs who managed to garner the facile opprobrium and spurious media headlines with their stunt of turning their backs toward the musicians scratching out the " Ode to Joy " -that most ersatz and superficial of all anthems anywhere or as the metropolitan Labour  Pravda   Guardian put it:- " Brexit party MEPs turned their...