View from Germany: Brits are in denial about their diminishing importance
https://global.handelsblatt.com/opinion/germany-brits-are-in-denial-brexit-905941?
One year after Brexit negotiations started, Britain's place in the world is shrinking fast.
At some point, Theresa May will have to tell her people the truth …
On the other side of the English Channel, Ms. May’s upbeat message met with near-total incomprehension.
British nationalists have failed to win over European public opinion.
Contrary to fears, no other EU country has shown any sign of following the British lead.
Even the right-wing nationalist governments of Poland and Hungary remain firmly committed to the EU.
Britain’s impending exit has shifted the balance of power between the UK and the EU, but not at all to London’s advantage.
When the Brexit negotiations began in March 2017, some in the EU feared they could be bamboozled by savvy British diplomats, well-schooled in the country’s imperial tradition.
A year later, things look very different.
Britain’s diplomats are still brilliant, but they have little say in their own country, making little headway against demagogues and populist deniers of reality like Boris Johnson or David Davis.
Long after the loss of its colonies, Britain continued to benefit from the Empire’s fading aura.
But with Brexit, that magic has finally worn off.
Left to its own devices, Britain is just a medium-sized state with limited global influence, its Empire long gone.
The Commonwealth does not have a seat at the table with the world’s great powers.
So now the prime minister travels the country, trying to hold together the tiny remains of the empire on which the sun never set.
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Last year, the German chancellor made it known that EU heads of government had better things to do than discuss Brexit.
In future, could the British prime minister deal directly with Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, please?