DEAR THERESA,
At your first cabinet meeting you said that your government would not be “defined by Brexit”. Good luck with that. Britain’s tortured relationship with the European Union has felled most recent Conservative prime ministers, and none faced a task remotely as daunting as the one that confronts you. Disentangling Britain from the EU will be like extracting one glue-slathered octopus from a basket of 27 other ones. It could go horribly wrong.
To avoid that, Charlemagne offers some unsolicited advice. You begin with a reservoir of relief (not goodwill, mind) among your fellow European leaders. Disaster would now be looming had an outlandish Brexiteer such as Boris Johnson muscled his way into Downing Street. You earned respect in Brussels during your six years as home secretary. But that also means that while your EU counterparts may ignore the boosterish bluster emitted by some of your more excitable cabinet colleagues (such as Liam Fox, the new trade secretary), they will expect better from you.
So choose your battles carefully. Do not, for example, dither endlessly on Article 50, the legal device which sets a...Continue reading
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