To go or to stay? The answer to the Brexit question lies in duality

THE interweaving, two-sided nature of the debate on a possible British departure from the European Union makes it both fascinating and confusing. The different aspects contain elements of yin and yang, thesis and antithesis, action and reaction. One moment, controversy focuses on the emotive issue of immigration, where the Brexiteers seem to have the stronger hand; a minute later, discussions swing back, for connected as well as unconnected reasons, to hard-headed economics, where the "stayers" appear in the ascendancy.

The British show concern about trade and the single market, mortgage rates, the National Health Service and so on. In the rest of the continent (to which, by the way, the UK belongs), the fear is that "Brexit" could destroy a political construct that has underpinned peace and stability for over 60 years. At the general council of the European Central Bank (linking all 28 EU members) in mid-March, some forecast that a British exit would bind Europe together, but the overwhelming majority of monetary representatives said it would have a disintegrative effect.

The reality is that the EU, first and foremost, is a political pact. This is the word that "dares not speak thy name" for the Remain campaign, worried that it could bring hordes of angry Brexiteers to the polling booths. It's crucial to understand what this means.