Splits in the ranks

The Guradina's lead website story is of discussion of Brexit at yesterday's meeting of EU leaders. Positions have been sketched throughout the last few days, mostly citing EC spokespersons, but this time the elected leaders have a chance to make their points. We were bound to get actual politics as a result, not theological neo-liberalism. As a the EC seems to have feared would get out, national politicians do not entirely agree:

Macron, who is fighting a rearguard action against the rise of populism in Europe, said blocking any attempt by the UK to pick and choose elements of EU membership had to be the priority in the dying days of the Brexit negotiations...[but]...A number of fellow EU leaders have conceded that compromise from both sides is needed to reach a deal both on avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland and on the future framework of a trade deal...The nationalist prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, who has sparred with Macron over migration, told reporters he was getting close to building a majority of member states in opposition to “a camp of prime ministers” who believe the “British must suffer”. “I don’t like that approach at all,” he said.

More detail is then provided about those advocating compromise

I was expecting some ideological work to mark the readers' cards as to which side el Gurinada might support. There was a handsome photograph of Macron, and Orban probably has already been labelled sufficiently as a right-wing neo-Nazi. Even so, the argument that this is all about economics or lofty principles of freedom seems to have slipped a bit -- we should accept a poor deal to support Macron's crusade against populist rivals?

The chosen Urdinaga ideological thrust, however, is still to bang on about a new referendum:

Earlier, the Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, said he would like to see Britain hold a second referendum on membership of the EU – even though May pointedly told EU leaders that one was not on the table...May specifically ruled out a second vote in her comments at dinner. But Babis told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We hope that finally we will reach a deal but I am very unhappy that the UK is leaving, so it would be better maybe to make another referendum and maybe the people in the meantime could change their view.

I suspect Babis was using terms that are probably a bit frank for the banging on and on bit. It's NOT another referendum, it's a PEOPLE'S VOTE, and there must be no suggestion that such a vote might assist the EC strategy of making life difficult until voters change their mind. The Grudnia really should have paraphrased there, and not directly quoted -- either a lapse or a remnant of journalistic values means they missed an ideological chance.

In a similar vein, there were remarks (on Newsnight I think) that May fears that if she says another vote is in the offing, the EC will suggest a bad deal so as to pursue their strategy, an argument which has been suppressed in liberal circles. No sooner had the argument finally reappeared, though, than up pops someone from the P Hammond Tendency to weaken it:

Complications over implementing Brexit were further highlighted by junior Treasury minister Mel Stride, who diverted from the prime minister’s position by appearing to suggest a second referendum could happen if parliament voted down the deal May negotiates with Brussels.

Useful idiots everywhere.