It is very difficult to define the situation of the UK at the moment. Today we have been through what feels like an entirely unreal exercise, of participating in the elections to the European parliament although it remains entirely unclear as to whether those elected will ever take their seats. The farce of the government’s inability to pass any legislation that would confirm our withdrawal from the European Union, or to definitively abandon the attempt to do so, continues, and indeed intensifies each day. As I write the general expectation is that the Prime Minister will resign in the very near future, and nobody has a clear idea about who will replace her, or under what circumstances.
As a consequence of this I am equally unsure as to which metaphor most aptly describes our situation. Are we in purgatory or in limbo? As I understand it, in traditional Catholic theology purgatory is the intermediate destination of souls in which they are purged of their sins before either being admitted to Paradise or condemned to Hell. Limbo is the spiritual “parking lot” in which the souls of unbaptised infants are retained. Although I am not a Catholic, as I understand this idea it is a special way of dealing with those who have died while too young, and hence too naive, to have committed sins.
There is something to be said for the applicability of either metaphor. Certainly the utter naiveté of the political elite that led us into this situation is truly marvellous. On the other hand, the conduct of the political process that has followed our dreadful referendum would appear to require a strong element of purgation.
I can’t wait for next week when I will be off on my “artistic retreat”, and I will close the door completely on this dreadful mess for a blessed interval.