No Deal Brexit is a near-certainty now. So, who will get the blame? The finger-pointing has already started.
The government says it does still want to negotiate a new Brexit deal with the EU. But the minister in charge of no deal preparations, Michael Gove, says Brussels isn't interested.
EU Open for a Deal Says Irish Prime Minister
Leo Varadkar, Ireland's Taoiseach (Prime Minister) says EU is Open to New Brexit Deal if Boris Johnson Drops Red Lines and Offers Concessions.
UK Open for a Deal
Let's modify the above link title by changing just a few characters: UK is Open to New Brexit Deal if the EU Drops Red Lines and Offers Concessions.
Is that not equally valid?
If the EU can have "red lines" why can't the UK?
Just as the EU is "open for a deal" the UK is "open for a deal" on the exact terms Varadkar wants, just in reverse.
Varadkar Points a Finger
“If no deal happens on 31 October, it will be as a consequence of decision made in London,” says Varadkar.
Boris Johnson can of course make the identical claim.
The reality is No Deal if no one is willing to budge.
Stepping Back
It is crystal clear the EU tried to screw the UK. It is caught on film.
Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, admitted on film, that the EU intended to use the backstop as a means of applying permanent pressure on the UK.
- The EU bragged about crushing Theresa May: "We Got More Than We Hoped"
- The EU admitted Theresa May wanted a customs union all along.
- Michel Barnier spoke on film of "using Ireland for future negotiations. Isolating Ireland and not closing this point, leaving it open for the next two or three years."
- Barnier used the words "permanent pressure" in regards to the backstop.
- The EU bragged about "getting rid of the UK on EU terms" and turning the UK into a "colony"
Why Did the EU Authorize the Film?
- To mock the UK
- To openly show that no one could leave the EU without being severely punished.
- Pure arrogance
The EU cannot hide its intent of trapping the the UK in a permanent customs union, with no say in policy.
Michel Barnier
Barnier is to be congratulated for negotiating the best, most one-sided deal in history. Trump would be proud.
But it was so one-sided that the UK parliament rejected the deal in three "meaningful votes" leading to the forced, tearful resignation of Theresa May.
By Person, Who Gets the Blame for No Deal
- Michel Barnier: 40% His Brexit negotiation team attempted to screw the UK and nearly got away with it.
- Theresa May: 25% She never really wanted to leave. Her negotiation tactics (lack thereof) would have put the UK into a permanent customs union at the mercy of the EU forever. The UK parliament rejected her pathetic deal three times.
- Remainers in General: 15% - I am sure the Remainers would prefer May's poor deal to No Deal. And they had numerous chances to accept her deal. Instead, they held out for the impossible.
- Leo Varadkar: 10% - all of it recently with his silly statements. There is no chance of a deal unless he bends. The 10% is on the assumption that Varadkar won't bend.
- Jeremy Corbyn: 5% - The major irony is Corbyn wants a customs union, nearly identical to the one May negotiated. He could have at any time backed May's deal. I assign Corbyn only 5% because politically-speaking it would have been very difficult for him to back May's deal. He could have offered free votes though, instead of the Whip.
- Emmanuel Macron: 5% - The final extension compromise was poorly timed. One can thank Macron for that. There is no time for Parliament to stop No Deal. A longer extension, which Macron would not support, would have given the UK parliament more time for shenanigans.
- Boris Johnson: 0% - He is doing exactly what he said he would do. The UK parliament did no believe him, nor did the EU. That's not his fault. Politically, Johnson must deliver Brexit, not some pathetic rehash of Theresa May's deal. That is the political reality. Johnson gets no blame.
Total that up and it's roughly 55-45 in favor of blaming the EU.
There's plenty of blame to go around. This will be debated for years.
But the moral of the story is one-sided deals ultimately fail. And the Barnier-May deal was amazingly one-sided.
They get the blame, not Johnson.
There is still some minor chance of a deal, but Ireland has to bend first.
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