Friday, February 10, 2017

British migrants displaced by austerity

Financial Times --

Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s top oil producer and the wealthiest of its seven emirates, has long epitomised the petrodollar wealth of the Gulf — Adia manages assets estimated at $800bn. But government austerity measures now illustrate how the region’s leaders are being forced to take radical action in response to prolonged low oil prices and implement politically sensitive policies that were once considered a taboo in societies where government largesse has been the norm. ...  The result is the flight of expatriates who had descended on Abu Dhabi during the oil boom of the 2000s as the emirate embarked on an ambitious programme to transform itself into a luxurious business and tourism destination.

Notice again the terminology trick that Europeans in Abu Dhabi are "expats" but in the Brexit debate, Europeans in Britain are "migrants." Unstated in the FT article is that the Gulf economy is one that the Brexiteers thought provided them with an alternative to the case for integration with Europe. Now the Gulf has less money.

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