Letter: Lack of affection for UK from EU
There are more than a few lines of symmetry between Theresa May's dealings with the EU community, which formally began on Thursday evening at the Prime Minister's first European Council summit, and those of her predecessor, David Cameron.
Cameron pursued a not particularly well thought out strategy of annoying his European Union counterparts to score points at home in the vain hope of keeping Britain in the bloc, which ultimately led to a hostile environment when he sought to eke out some concessions for his doomed renegotiation. Theresa May, on the other hand, is a far more thoughtful actor, but she was unable to deliver her 'Brexit Briefing' until well after midnight on the first day of the summit.
The EU continues to refuse pre-emptive discussions prior to the Article 50 negotiations, besides it has much else to worry about. The European Union's once much-vaunted trade agreement with Canada is in tatters after Belgium's French-speaking parliament's rejected it.
Meanwhile, Russia is stepping up its engagement in Syria and the migration crisis is flaring up too.
The Prime Minister's five-minute briefing is said to have been met with an almost deathly silence, the EU press later described as 'delusional' her demand for Britain to continue to be treated as a normal member until Brexit.
EU leaders have hardly done a better job of expressing their contempt for a perfectly understandable request, after all Britain remains the second biggest contributor to the EU budget. The overwhelming sense in Brussels and among EU leaders is that this Brexit will be 'rough going' to use the words of Chancellor Merkel.
French President Francois Hollande was even less diplomatic, "I say very firmly: if Mrs May wants a hard Brexit she will get a hard negotiation."
Clearly, Britain, in spite of its ability to foster enviable alliances with nations the world over has not aroused much affection during its 43 years of membership and billions in budget transfers.
Even if Mrs May wanted to Remain in the EU, after two years of testing negotiations she will want to see the back Brussels more than anyone.
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