I think you will spend 125 seconds reading this post
As I type this, on my way to work and having had an interview with a journalist from Der Standard yesterday afternoon, the imminency of the referendum is really starting to hit home.
Friends and acquaintances at Wednesday night’s Vienna Expats Meet and Greet informed me that they had received and returned their voting forms – and are now waiting for the results in just over a fortnight’s time, although one is currently scrambling to have a proxy vote sorted as his council claim not to have received his form. Some people I spoke to on Wednesday remarked that they’ve reached saturation point with coverage – facebook newsfeeds being full of stories from both sides, and the proliferation of infographics, memes and status messages is certainly gathering pace.
Chatting to people at the event on Wednesday night the leap into the unknown is clearly a great concern if there is a majority in favour of leaving the EU. One scientist, who has recently finished her PhD, fears that it will impact access to funding and grants as well as affecting her prospects for jobs. This has been quite a common fear among friends here and elsewhere working in science, who say that research visits and cooperation, greatly facilitated by the freedom of movement, as well as funding within the EU have all been essential for their career development.
From others, there is a quiet confidence that even in the event of a Brexit that it will be business as usual while the gears grind over the Brexit negotiations (often people mention that the Vienna Convention will kick in, although for others, who are currently in the process of moving abroad, they are watching the result with baited breath).
Others seem confident of a deal being reached – whether of a Swiss, Norwegian or Albanian nature, or some hybrid of two or more types. Although, as one remarks – divorces frequently seem to be acrimonious, and other EU Members might not let Britain choose what they get in the settlement.
Two weeks today will be results day – it may have a feeling like public examinations results day – the results of which governed my next move. I will be hoping that my being in the German speaking world bodes well – I got both my GCSE and A-Level results while in Germany (from phone boxes in Lüneburg and Cologne respectively) so maybe this most important of results is one that I should phone about from the phone box round the corner…
