Farage to EU: ‘So long, suckers’ Belgium
Goodbye, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu. ‘‘Pas adieu,’’ more than one MEP insisted as Brussels began to de-Brit the premises, ‘‘mais au revoir.’’
Not so far as Nigel Farage was concerned. ‘‘Good riddance,’’ was the gist of the Brexit Party leader’s parting shot, followed swiftly by ‘‘So long, suckers.’’
‘‘So this is it,’’ Farage began as he gave the chamber that batrachoid smirk, a toadish grin that seemed to imply that not only was he moving out but he had stitched some mackerel into the hems of the curtains as a leaving present.
He may be off but the Eau de Nige will linger.
Not the Corps de Nige, though. Farage was having none of these ‘‘au revoirs’’ that had been scattered so optimistically by others. ‘‘Once we have left, we are not coming back,’’ he said. ‘‘You’re very good at making people vote again, but the British people are too big to be bullied.’’
As pomp and circumstance swelled within his head, and his MEPs looked up with adoration, Farage stuck out his chest and gave one last taunt. ‘‘You may hate populism,’’ he said. ‘‘But I tell you this: it’s very popular.’’ And with that he reached beneath his desk and pulled out a teeny-weeny Union Jack and gave it a wave. The chorus rose behind him, most of them wearing red, white and blue ties, and waggled their own flags. It was like the finale of HMS Pinafore.
Mairead McGuinness, Madame Deputy Speaker as we would call her, gave Farage a hard stare worthy of Paddington and turned off his microphone. McGuinness, a former presenter of the Irish reality show Celebrity Farm, had heard quite enough braying and clucking. ‘‘You’re leaving,’’ she said. ‘‘And take your flags with you.’’
Point made, the Faragists trotted off for a quiet drink. Followed by five or six noisy ones. Guy Verhofstadt had opened the debate. The floppy-haired Belgian is less of a grand fromage since standing down as leader of the Liberal alliance last year and no longer commands a front-row seat, but he remains one of the better speakers. He praised Britain’s MEPs for bringing ‘‘wit, charm, intelligence – well, some of them – and stubbornness’’. Verhofstadt said that Brussels should never have started making concessions to Britain in the 1980s. Give the British 2.54cm and they will take 1609m.
Ursula von der Leyen, the new president of the European Commission, was more conciliatory. Quoting George Eliot, she said: ‘‘Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love. We will always love you.’’ Nathalie Loiseau, the former French Europe minister, said that there were no hard feelings. ‘‘You have achieved your objectives,’’ she told the Brexiteers. ‘‘You will have no one to blame now for the future of your country, especially not Brussels.’’