Nostalgia and hope for Remainers #94

Classic tension between hope and reason, commitment and analysis in the Graun today. The headline: 

For seasoned EU watchers, Brexit trade talks look uncannily like Grexit

That all ended very well for European cosmopolitanism/neo-lib repression, of course, even overturning a referendum, so maybe so will Brexit. But then, a bit of residual journalism training kicks in

Analysis: While there are similarities with the 2015 clash between Athens and Brussels, there are also key differences

Seems pretty safe if not exactly ' information that’s grounded in science and truth, and analysis rooted in authority and integrity...truth-seeking ..revealing journalism that had real-world impact...urgent, powerful reporting'. Lest we forget:

Tsipras [Greek PM] was subjected to what EU insiders called “extensive mental waterboarding”. Greece would stay in the eurozone and get a new bailout, but only after agreeing to reform the tax and pension system, to liberalise the labour market and deregulate other parts of the economy....It was clear who had come off worst. “They crucified Tsipras in there,” said one senior eurozone official who attended the summit,

I recall it well. That was one of the occasions when I really started to see through the EC.

Having reminded us of that great episode in European democracy, the Graun conclusion is actually pretty limp:

All things considered, Johnson would rather secure a trade deal than not, but trading with the EU on World Trade Organization terms would not be so nearly as momentous for the UK as leaving the euro would have been for Greece. The choice is no deal or a relatively thin deal.

Presumably, this was a last minute call to rally the Remainer troops?A pretext to remind them of earlier victories, a bit like the Scottish rugby team singing about Bannockburn? It willl probably only harden everyone else.