It may be St George’s Day in April, but don’t expect a sea of red and white flags to be flying across the nation.
England is the least patriotic country in Europe, according to a survey that found only 10% of people would proudly display our national emblem in public.
Political correctness and fears of being branded racist because of the flag’s links with far-right groups have left folk too “scared” to fly the cross.
But, incredibly, just one in three people actually knows when St George’s Day is, the survey by This England magazine found. Editor Stephen Garnett said: “It was shocking to see the results.
“We’re disappointed English people are afraid of displaying the St George’s Cross. We want to reclaim the flag from extremists by asking as many people as possible to fly it.
“It was shocking to see the amount of people who don’t fly the flag because of fear of being judged. It was also very worrying that so many said political correctness stopped them celebrating their national pride.”
The study found most English people gave themselves 5.8 out of 10 when asked how patriotic they felt. The Dutch are Europe’s most loyal at 7.18, narrowly ahead of the Welsh on 7.06.
Four out of 10 participants said they felt England has completely lost its identity.
Lee-Ann Liebenberg is feeling less “patriotic” and is still in shock after being held-up by three armed black men outside her house in Johannesburg, News24 reported.
The South African beauty took to social media on Tuesday to share news of the traumatising incident, saying she and her family were followed home from Hyde Park Shopping Centre.
Lee-Ann and hubby Nicky were celebrating their daughter’s first birthday.
Although she wasn’t hurt, Lee-Ann says she’s finding it hard to remain patriotic.
Lee-Ann wrote on Instagram; “After our disgusting distressful horrible ordeal of being held up today at gun point AND MORE IMPORTANTLY GUNS POINTED our beautiful innocent children today…WE’RE CELEBRATING THAT WERE ALIVE! CELEBRATING WITH LOAD SHEDDING…WFT what more?!? I’m trying SO hard to be patriotic BUT……Thank you GOD for sparing us #WeSurvivedAnotherDayInAfrica. (sic)”
Marine Le Pen has failed to find support in the minimum of seven European Union countries for her conservative group, the European Alliance for Freedom.
Le Pen and Geert Wilders of the Dutch Freedom Party did not gain enough allies to qualify as a single caucus in the new European parliament, which now denies them access to funding and extra speaking time. They would also not be able to serve on committees.
Following European parliamentary elections last month, won by Le Pen’s Front National, the various parties had until Monday midnights to form a group comprising at least 25 MEPs from at least seven countries.
The Le Pen-led grouping includes Wilders’ Freedom party, the Austrian Freedom Party, Italy’s Liga Nord and Belgium’s Vlaams Belang. Le Pen and Wilders easily easily exceeded the minimum seats required, the European Alliance for Freedom was two countries short of the required seven.
Wilders and Le Pen said they refused to collaborate with a new party of the extreme right in Poland, viewed as antisemitic but also certain to clash with Wilders’ and Le Pen’s views on immigration to their countries from eastern Europe.
The Polish New Right Congress – which advocates abolishing women’s voting rights – and the Lithuanian Order and Justice parties said they refused to join the Le Pen group.
The Lithuanian party preferred to join British Ukip leader Nigel Farage’s Europe of Freedom and Democracy parliamentary group.
Yesterday, the Front National declared that it failed to muster a full-sized European parliamentary group as it had not wanted to ally itself with parties demonstrating incompatible values.
Florian Philippot, the party’s vice-president, told the French radio station Europe 1: “We were several parties, but we needed to come from seven countries and this time it didn’t work.”
Philippot also said to Reuters: “We have no group, for the time being at least. But our deputies, who are more numerous than any other party in the French delegation, will be there to defend France under any circumstances, with or without a group.”
Ludovic de Danne, Le Pen’s European spokesman, tweeted: “Never mind the betrayals and media agitation. We and our allies will build a solid and coherent political group later.”
The new 751-seat European assembly sits for the first time next week.
Subsidies for political groups in the European parliament are substantial. The European Alliance for Freedom could have received up to €22m for operational expenses.
In its media release yesterday, the Front National stated:
“We regret it in the short term, but we take responsibility for our moral and political choice in the long term.
Convinced that it will be possible for us to form this group shortly, we are committed from the very first session in Strasbourg on 1 July to our struggle as patriots for our sovereignty, our identity and our liberty. We shall continue in parallel and with the greatest determination, our negotiations with several parties in Europe so as to constitute this greater formation in favour of sovereignty in the European parliament.”
Boeremag member Dr Lets Pretorius told the High Court in Pretoria on Monday he was not a racist and had never been in favour of using violence to achieve change.
Testifying in mitigation of sentence, he said he had not raised his sons to be racist or to be fanatical extremists.
“We were a happy, loving, God fearing and close family. I raised my sons as patriotic Afrikaners,” he said.
Pretorius, his three sons and 16 other Boeremag members were convicted last year on a charge of high treason.
This arose from a rightwing coup plot to overthrow the African National Congress government.
His sons, and Herman van Rooyen and Rudi Gouws, were also found guilty on charges of attempting to murder former president Nelson Mandela with a homemade bomb.
They were furthermore convicted of murdering Soweto mother Claudia Mokone with a bomb placed on a railway line in October 2002.
Pretorius said that as a medical doctor he worked with black patients at a missionary hospital for three years.
He ran several rural clinics in the former Lebowa for 16 years and treated both black and white patients at his private clinic.
His sons often accompanied him and did not have any problems with black people, he said.
“The day before my arrest, I received a command from the Holy Spirit to level the road for the Boer nation in the desert, and to raise a banner for the new nation that would be formed.
“There was no element of violence anywhere in this command.
“I’ve kept myself busy with this since my release on bail. I know the State has watched every word and step I take, and I am sure that if there was even a hint of illegality anywhere my bail would have been cancelled.
“I am still involved in the website Boerevryheid that is used as a debate forum to build the Boer nation as an entity.”
He denied playing a leading role in the Boeremag.
He said his role would have been to provide medical support services when a large scale black-on-white attack (the so-called Night of Terror) predicted by Boer prophet Siener van Rensburg came to pass.
He claimed the coup plot was exclusively the brainchild of fellow accused Tom Vorster and that he had not been privy to all of Vorster’s plans.
“Vorster assured me we were busy with plans that would come into effect after the Night of Terror.
“I never had the impression that we were busy with an offensive action. I was very effectively bluffed.
“I am prepared to admit attending meetings and to admit my lack of insight.
“I was always on the sidelines and never helped to make plans, except to ensure there was medical equipment available.
“I can say in all honesty that I was never at any stage busy planning a coup.
“If people had enough trust in me to link my name without my knowledge to ranks and posts, I should not be punished for it.
“I never had the impression that my sons were going to plant bombs.
“I knew absolutely nothing about the planting of bombs. If I had not been arrested, I would have done everything within my power to ensure than no bomb ever went off.
“I confronted my sons in jail about the bombs and was told Tom Vorster and Hanekom had convinced them they would be in a situation of war and would be protected by the Geneva Convention.
“I’ve never been in favour of violence to achieve change.
“I had always treated the victims of violence, but the first time I personally came into contact with violence was when a gun was pushed against my head and I was shoved around during my arrest.
“I’ve had a good relationship with black people all of my life. My record [as a medical doctor] speaks for itself,” he said.
Pretorius testified that he and his son Johan, also a medical doctor, had according to his calculations each lost about R20 million as a result of the case.
They had to close down their private hospital and Pretorius also had to sell off his farms and livestock.
The trial continues. – Sapa
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