Helen Drake, Professor of European Politics at the University of Loughborough: “If the ‘remain’ party wins, to stay in the common European house, or if the ‘leave’ party wins, to go out of it… plenty of negative energy in both cases”. A few hours left to the opening of the polls. Tomorrow morning 23 June, from 7 o’clock, the citizens of the United Kingdom will decide the destiny of the country and of Europe. Helen Drake, Professor of European politics at the University of Loughborough, and expert on the EU-Great Britain relationship is pessimistic. “I have already voted by mail, to remain, but if the majority wants to leave the EU many people will be disappointed, because leaving is a difficult and complicated process, and not a clean break as presented during the electoral campaign by Brexit media. On the other hand, if we vote to remain there will be no new, enthusiastic beginning, unless there is a remarkable majority for Brexit, and British political élites decide to really commit themselves to Europe for the first time”, says Professor Drake. “Great Britain has been a recalcitrant EU partner for 43 years. Citizens know very little about the common house, and political parties have always been divided on the matter. This political and cultural emptiness has been exploited by populism: the popular tabloids of Murdoch promote closed borders; and leaders such as Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson claim to be champions of the people while they are only thinking about their own interest”.