“Miserable May continues… “ – oh yes, I thought: what a great headline! Unfortunately, it’s about the weather and not about our beloved PM. While the May weather will be miserable only for some (link, if you must), the PM’s Brexit plans mean misery for all of us.

We read yesterday that 10 Drowning Street is preparing for more misery by working on how best to get the PM’s dreadful WA through the intransigent HoC (see here). Her MPs meanwhile are out, facing us voters in a bid to achieve some respectable result in the EP elections which are taking place in 12 day’s time.

At the same time they’re manoeuvring as to who should replace her when she goes – if she goes. The latest is that Ms Amber Rudd is apparently now secretly supporting BoJo and that her demand to ‘male’ candidates not to parade their wives was meant as secret signal to go for a ‘dream combo’ called ‘Bamber’ …

This Tory Game of Thrones is getting tedious, especially when we’re presented with an insight, an interpretation of what the PM may or may not want to do:

“Theresa May will not set a resignation date because she says it would make passing her Brexit deal impossible, according to reports. Setting a definite date could see the Prime Minister’s Brexiteer critics hold out for her departure, rather than backing her deal for the UK to leave the EU.” (link)

We’ve said it so many times now: nothing matters to the PM except getting that BRINO thing through the HoC, preferably now, before the EP Elections – and never mind that, having lied so many times already, there’s no guarantee that she’d actually go once her spineless bunch of Remain MPs have given in and dragged that abomination over the finishing line.

Never mind that the EP elections will take place regardless, even if the PM achieves her dream goal of “delivering Brexit”, by making us into the vassal state of the EU. What a waste of £150million to pay for that ‘exercise’!

The PM will campaign as well, sort of, as The Times reports:

“Theresa May will make her only significant contribution to the Tories’ European parliamentary election campaign late next week as the party appeals to its most loyal supporters to avoid a catastrophic defeat. The prime minister is set to make a token effort this weekend — possibly taking part in telephone canvassing — but will not make a public appearance on the stump.” link, paywalled)

Of course not – that might be, ahem, unwise … More:

Instead Mrs May is planning a speech on the future of Europe towards the end of next week, although her allies said that the precise nature of the “event” had yet to be determined. Party chiefs are relying on telephone canvassing and taxpayer-funded mailshots in a cut-price campaign boycotted by large sections of its membership angry at her refusal to leave the EU on March 29 after her deal was rejected”. (link, paywalled)

I’m sorry (not!) that there’s only one word I can use to describe her attitude properly, and that is: pigheaded. See this:

“Mrs May is likely to use her campaign appearance to tell voters that the only way to be sure that Brexit is delivered is for MPs to pass the withdrawal agreement. The speech could coincide with the Commons introduction of the Brexit implementation legislation.” (link, paywalled)

Does she really think that we will vote for MEPs who will support her BRINO?  Or does she think we’ll now finally tell our MPs to please support her? Really?

Of course, having seen the behaviour of the majority of the dwellers inside the HoC, a.k.a. MPs, I can understand that she must regard them as toddlers who throw tantrums at the drop of a hat. Reasoning with them, she seems to think, is useless, they must be forced to obey because Mummy knows best. I shudder to imagine what she thinks of us Leavers out here …

Meanwhile there was this EU summit in Romania on Thursday which did not touch upon Brexit – on purpose. It was meant to be about the EU post-Brexit because they all thought we’d have been out by now. Interestingly enough, none of our MSM sent their EU correspondents. A quick glance at the ‘news’ listed in that browser starting with ‘g’ brings up one report only, in the DM (link), which is taken from a press agency.

I can’t blame them – who’d want to listen to a touchy-feely assertion that ‘they will all stick together through thick and thin’, to be ‘stronger united’! You’ll notice that this cry for ‘unity’ which we keep hearing from our establishment Parties when they want to convince us that we must Remain is now the mantra for the whole EU.

Interference in the running of elections in a foreign country is very much frowned upon by Brussels, but since some animals are more equal than others, the ‘support’ by Guy Verhofstadt at the LibDem campaign launch is perfectly ok, as are remarks by Donald Tusk, gleefully reported in RemainCentral, a.k.a The Times:

“Yesterday Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, obliquely helped Mrs May’s cause by suggesting that the odds that Brexit would be reversed in a second referendum were shortening with every month that passed. He believes that the tide is turning as the difficulty of implementing Brexit becomes apparent to the public.” (link, paywalled)

Yeah right – and we should be happy to Remain, yes?

Or perhaps not so much, given that Madame Merkel and M Macron are busy fighting over the election of the new president of the European commission. That’s the Juncker replacement:

“Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel are at loggerheads over who should succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission in a row which threatens to precipitate a major constitutional crisis in the EU.The divisions between the EU’s two most influential member states will further complicate a looming inter-institutional turf war in Brussels over whether the new president should be chosen through the European elections or not.” (paywalled link)

These machinations wouldn’t have interested us at all, had we been Out. But we ain’t, so we need to understand who that Juncker replacement will be. Merkel wants her protege, Mr Weber – Macron doesn’t, and has got some of his ducks lined up already:

“Mr Macron hopes to have the same disruptive effect in the European elections that he wielded to propel him to the French presidency. He has created a new party, Renaissance, made up of prospective MEPs from his En Marche party. Mr Macron is expected to form a new political group with Europe’s liberals, who are currently led by Guy Verhofstadt, the parliament’s Brexit coordinator.” (paywalled link)

Do the LibDems know that they’re now Macron supporters by proxy?

While Macron’s calculations may not work out, the truly astonishing result of a fragmented EU Parliament may well be this:

“Momentum appears to be building behind the choice of compromise candidate Michel Barnier to succeed Mr Juncker. He has a pan-EU profile, thanks to his work as the EU’s Brexit negotiator, is French and is a veteran and influential member of the EPP. But that is far from certain. Mr Barnier has said he wants to be “useful” to the next commission but insists he is not on the campaign trail while delivering presidential speeches on the future of Europe. Some EU diplomats are suspicious that Mr Macron and Mrs Merkel will collude to ensure a French commission president and a German head of the European Central Bank.” (paywalled link)

Our future as vassal state in the new Franco-German EU is bright! You remember that last year, M&M signed a co-operation treaty which they prepared by themselves, over the head of Brussels: a sign of things to come?

Perhaps the realisation that we’ll be under Franco-German boots has crept upon the current DExEU minister Steve Barclay who is alleged to bring the No Deal back into play – read it here, it’s not paywalled:

“Brexit secretary Steven Barclay is set to ramp up no-deal Brexit planning in a move that is likely to trigger a “major totemic battle” among cabinet ministers. […] Mr Barclay will either present his paper at cabinet next Tuesday or a week later, according to Whitehall figures.”

Nah – I think Mr Barclay just wants to polish up his credentials as Eurosceptic, to look good to whoever will replace the PM – if she will be replaced, that is. Perhaps it’s just a ploy to increase the chances of the Tories in the EP elections … yes, I’m cynical.

When I look at today’s Brexit news I cannot help but diagnose a new illness which has befallen all EU politicians, our Remainers and the PM’s cabinet included. It’s called ‘whistling-in-the-dark-itis’, crying for ‘Unity’. There’s no cure, except Leave.

 

KBO!

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email