So we have invoked Article 50 and the yapping has begun - or at least the rather depressing opening salvos to soften each side up before the negotiation, which rather reminded me of the old football saying about "getting your retaliation in first". And it's going to carry on for some time...
An interesting member of the public phoned in to Tony Livesey's show on Radio 5 Live a few days ago. It turned out he had been one of the negotiators when we joined the EEC (as it then was) in the 1970s. He recalled how the Brussels machine had removed lots of things that had been agreed in negotiation from the first full draft of the agreement, which reminded me of similar experiences with the purchasing functions of a number of large bureaucratic companies. You could never trust that what had been agreed was in the document presented for signature without having every page checked. Just like Brussels they had a habit of pasting back in their standard terms. He warned that the negotiation will be long, hard and complex. The only thing I took issue with was his statement that nobody seemed to have foreseen this - sorry, mate, I never thought this would be easy (see my blogs from last May and June). I'm sure this will be one of those two steps forward and three back negotiations, with backsliding and reneging more common than mutual self interest.
However, I am encouraged at what seems to be the increasing number of people in business and commerce who are openly looking forward to the future and see it as positive. One example is James Dyson, of the ubiquitous but heavy vacuum cleaners and airblade hand dryers that blast you into next week. He says it is in both parties interests to reach a deal. Well, yes in principle, but the EU isn't like that because the integrity of their project matters more to them than the well being of their people. As I've said before, you can't negotiate with a psychopath who doesn't mind a fair bit of self harm. There will be times when our negotiators will be pulling their hair out with frustration. And Livesey's guest only had 6 other countries to deal with, not 27.
Despite all that, all the signs are that the overwhelming majority of Brits just want the deed done. Even the institutionally biased BBC (it's not just me saying that lately, I note) has admitted that only one third of the electorate wants to remain in the EU, with a third wanting to leave and the other third just wanting to get the deed done. So a 2 to 1 majority want to get on with it and leave.
The other thing that I saw the first sight of this week was the start of this year's display of blackthorn in bloom, which readers will know lifts my heart for the spring and summer ahead (see post of 14 April 2016, particularly if you want to be able to tell the difference between blackthorn and hawthorn. Quick reminder - if it's got creamy blossom but no leaves right now it's blackthorn, if it's got fresh lime green leaves and no blossom now it's hawthorn).
Both of these dramas will rumble on, but I think I will enjoy the year in bloom more than the year in gloom.
No comments:
Post a Comment