Annus Horribilis

When the histories come to be written it is unlikely that the judgments on the year 2016 will be favourable. On the contrary it is likely that this year will rank up with 1914 as one of the most disastrous of modern times. If Donald Trump is elected on November 8th there will be no doubt – it will be the year we took leave of our senses. The leitmotif of the times is division. Of course in politics there have always been divisions; indeed there wouldn’t be politics without them. There would be a one Party state. But increasingly these divisions have become raucous and confrontational – the gap between points of view has never been wider.