JOHN GRIFF: EU referendum political fallout is all Greek to me

Less than four weeks remain until arguably the most important vote of certainly two, if not three generations.

There are those who were part of the nation which became Good Europeans, those, like me, who grew up not really knowing anything other than being Good Europeans, and the next generation which will either remain Good Europeans or strike out as Plucky Brits – which is where we first came in I suppose.

It is not for me to suggest how you should vote – if you do so, you do so on the basis of your own preference.

Instead, I wonder what life will be like once the voting booths have again been packed away, the counters have left their counting stations and the dust has again settled on the events of June 23.

The reason I wonder about the future is because of the way in which old style barriers have been torn down at a rate the like of which I really can’t remember witnessing before.

In the past, anything remotely political would have followed pretty well accepted lines. We used to know where we stood and if one faction said something you could reasonably expect that the other would say the complete opposite, with the minor parties offering considered, but pretty much ignored alternatives.

And thus the merry-go-round continued to revolve.

Now though, things are different. Now, the generally recognised looks anything BUT recognisable.

Politics derives from the Greek for citizens – the people. When you look at the global stage it is, perhaps, the most expensive industry on the planet.

From local to regional to national and then international players, politics is the subject that we all have an involvement in, be that passive or otherwise.

There are those who live their entire lives in the political pond, never knowing life outside on dry land – and no, by that I don’t mean “The Wets”.

Equally, there are those who aspire to the corridors of power who never get to see them.

I’ve been to the House of Commons a couple of times – once when I was at school, the other to a reception hosting former pupils of my school and both were a long time ago.

The security measures to get in were topped only by US border control – which I found impressively impregnable – but once inside I found the House surprisingly easy to roam.

The West Wing it certainly wasn’t, but there was an atmosphere to the place which I have to say I found rather intoxicating. Perhaps the politicos have something that the rest of us are missing, beyond our taxes.

The EU referendum will mark the finishing line of the fundamental race between those who want to stay and those who don’t. But I wonder if it isn’t going to end up being something of a political Pandora’s Box.

Already there are those with opposing views who are part of the same political party – and this goes on across all parties. What will happen on June 24?

Will it be handshakes all round, tea in the pavilion and on to the next innings?

Will old rivalries between parties surface again, or will more recent rivalries from within the parties result in factional politics on all levels?

The winners and losers will be, I suspect, far harder to recognise than might otherwise be thought to be the case. How many aspirations will fall by the wayside as that dust settles?

I have no idea – it’s still all Greek to me.