The dynamics of British politics since the June referendum have vaporized the softer options with breathtaking speed, while London’s main continental partners have their own domestic reasons to prefer a quick, clean break. Some European government officials say privately that only a nasty economic shock will make the U.K. more realistic in negotiations on their future relationship. [...]
Unable to resolve the contradiction between single market access and controlling immigration, May and her ministers are denying that they face any such choice. Perhaps some of them genuinely believe the time is ripe for European governments, under pressure from their own populists, to reinterpret freedom of movement in a way that is compatible with British voters’ concerns. [...]
British efforts to sow division among continental Europeans by highlighting the potential cost of tariffs on imports of German cars or Italian prosecco have also been counter-productive so far. The head of the BDI German industrialists’ federation, Markus Kerber, reminded BBC listeners that only 7.2 percent of German exports go to Britain.
Diplomats note that even when German business chiefs did lobby Merkel against imposing sanctions on Russia, she brushed their pleas aside. Besides, German officials see potential investment gains for Germany as a result of Brexit, and they don’t see status-conscious Brits abandoning their BMWs, Mercedes or Porsches for U.K-made Japanese cars.
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