Much glee today in the Guardian because May and Juncker had an argument at a Downing Street dinner designed to establish the basis for the talks. Naturally, the Graun thinks this row indicates a fatal flaw in May's strategy or in her personality. Juncker announced he is even more sceptical about the outcome, is determined that Brexit will not be a success, and made the usual demands for guarantees for EU citizens (possibly meaning under continuing European Court control) and for the 'divorce bill' payment (could be £50bn). 'Major statesman has childish tantrum' would have been a better headline.
What interested me was the sequence when May told Juncker (apparently) that the UK had no obligation in law to pay anything. Juncker lost it at that point, got angry, and said the EU was not a golf club that you could leave when you wanted but a family. Emotions, not calculation, ran high at that point, maybe.
This sentimental image seems not to have been challenged by Remainers at all. But what a dodgy metaphor for a ruthless bunch of finance capitalists! A family that shits on its poorest members? A family with all the underlying Oedipal connotations of fathers waving their phalluses to sumbolize the Law, infantilizing everyone else?
And there was me thinking it was not a marriage but basically a thoroughly secular political and economic contract, based on mutual interests, not eternal love, we had signed in 1975. I certainly didn't know I had to love and respect Juncker as well.
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