Yesterday's meeting of Johnson and Merkel looked exactly like they always do when our politicians go over to continental Europe. We appear like a cross between a rabbit caught in headlights and a lap dog, slightly awkward and panting but eager to please. Merkel gave Johnson 30 days to come up with a solution to replace the backstop and you would have thought she was giving him Greenland. He said he was "more than happy" and looked pathetically grateful for what was essentially nothing.
A couple of weeks ago he was saying he wouldn't even talk unless the EU agreed to drop the backstop and yet there he was picking up crumbs in Germany. Perhaps all those dire warnings of Operation Yellowhammer are having the desired effect?
All the previous macho talk about waiting for the EU to come to him seemed to be forgotten as he dutifully trotted off to Berlin. A line-up was presented to him that looked like the hastily assembled queue from a local Sparkasse in Bielefeld but he declared it to be the most wonderful reception he had ever had. What a great advantage it is to be such a well practiced liar. I almost believed him.
Even The Daily Mail thought he looked anxious and twitchy. For all the world Johnson appeared as if he'd recently escaped from a secure dementia ward, his eyes darting around the room seeking a friendly face. Unfortunately, there weren't any.
People outside were braying (after the great Steve) "Stop Brexit" as he arrived. Good on them.
The 30 day period has captured headlines this morning but it was clear to me this was simply a casual, almost throwaway remark by Merkel and not a serious deadline at all. And if we haven't found a solution in three years, finding one over the next month looks impossible. If this is how international diplomacy is carried out Lord help us.
Johnson's 'big idea' will be lucky to become a non-starter. It is for Ireland to doff its cap, detach itself temporarily from the EU and follow UK rules until we've sorted ourselves out a bit. I am not kidding. Johnson apparently wants Ireland to do what he has ruled impossible for the UK. No wonder he didn't go to Dublin first. What does this say about our stunning and unshakeable imperial arrogance? He must think he's Churchill back at Yalta with Stalin carving up Europe between us and Russia in 1945.
Johnson's 'big idea' will be lucky to become a non-starter. It is for Ireland to doff its cap, detach itself temporarily from the EU and follow UK rules until we've sorted ourselves out a bit. I am not kidding. Johnson apparently wants Ireland to do what he has ruled impossible for the UK. No wonder he didn't go to Dublin first. What does this say about our stunning and unshakeable imperial arrogance? He must think he's Churchill back at Yalta with Stalin carving up Europe between us and Russia in 1945.
The world learned of the potential plan through Tom Newton-Dunn at The Sun:
What’s Boris Johnson’s big idea to replace the backstop? Allies tell me he wants a bilateral agreement with Ireland that will see Dublin diverge from EU rules temporarily to share a common rule book with the UKhttps://t.co/3jspe1TvYS— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) August 20, 2019
Not only is the suggestion ridiculous itself, but to travel to Berlin to propose it is an insult to Ireland. It is not the way to influence the very people that you need to help find a real solution.
Luckily, the suggestion won't take anything like 30 days to work up - indeed it lasted barely 30 minutes. Ireland's deputy PM and foreign minister, Simon Coveney was quick to bury the suggestion, telling an Irish radio station in the afternoon that Ireland would not be dragged out of the EU or become collateral damage in our Brexit problems. For me this is a sign of the massive difficulty Johnson has created for himself.
We must assume he will arrive back in the UK next week waving a page hastily pulled from a calendar which he will be able to present to Mark Francois as proof of his negotiating skills. Thirty whole days! Think about it. He started with 60 days.
I so wanted Monty Python's Graham Chapman to burst in from the side, swagger stick jammed in the armpit of his Colonel's uniform and declaring the whole thing 'too silly' but you can't have everything can you?
I so wanted Monty Python's Graham Chapman to burst in from the side, swagger stick jammed in the armpit of his Colonel's uniform and declaring the whole thing 'too silly' but you can't have everything can you?
The very best spin that Downing Street could put on it was that there was now a 'glimmer of light'.
Today it's Macron in Paris and he has not been saying anything like as encouraging. You can bet he will take a much harder line. Yesterday was the velvet glove. Today the iron fist will switch off the glimmer of light. Wait for it.
Will these meetings change anything? No. What is clear is just how important a deal is to Johnson. I am reinforced in my firm belief that (a) we will not leave the EU on 31st October and (b) Johnson will shortly have the most humiliating climb down of any British prime minister since Sir Anthony Eden over Suez. His day of reckoning for thirty years of lies about the EU is very close.
