Politico: Britain thinks Germans care about Brexit — they don’t

Brexit is not a political issue in Germany. No election will be won or lost because of it. Angela Merkel’s position — to walk in lock-step with France and the Commission — is not controversial, it is consensus across the political landscape. [...]

A prominent German commentator recently compared May to “a beetle lying on its back, kicking its legs in desperation.” Germany’s politicians have shown little inclination to help turn her back over. May’s failed back-channel effort to convince Berlin to push Michel Barnier to move Brexit talks to the next phase is only the latest example of Germany’s unwillingness to help. [...]

British hopes that Berlin would eventually intervene to try and protect Germany’s industrial interests in the U.K. have proved misplaced. German auto companies are likely to take a Brexit hit. But the growth in migration of financial firms to Frankfurt has convinced Berlin that Brexit might not be as bad as many feared.

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