Merkel mocks May ... even though she’s in a worse mess!
HER bid to form a German government is in crisis – but that hasn’t stopped Angela Merkel trying to mock Britain’s Brexit strategy.
The German Chancellor was caught poking fun at Theresa May’s ability as a deal-maker, suggesting that she does not have a clue how to negotiate.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mrs Merkel recounted her private conversations with the Prime Minister to journalists – accusing Mrs May of refusing to spell out the postBrexit relationship Britain wants.
The German leader said that, instead, Mrs May responded to questions by repeatedly saying: ‘Make me an offer.’
In one exchange, Mrs Merkel is said to have asked: ‘But you’re leaving – we don’t have to make you an offer. Come on, what do you want?’ She is underher stood to have received a stony-faced response from the PM.
Mrs Merkel’s anecdote about her oneto-one meetings is said to have left the journalists laughing ‘uproariously’.
Downing Street yesterday said it ‘did not recognise’ the account of the meeting between the two leaders.
However the reports will fuel concerns that a decision on what relationship the UK wants with the EU has been paralysed by splits in the Tory Party.
Mrs May’s Brexit war cabinet has still not discussed key issues such as how far Britain should diverge from EU rules after leaving.
The Daily Mail revealed at the weekend that Mrs May has abandoned preparations for a major speech setting out Brexit vision, which had been pencilled in for next month.
An account of Mrs Merkel’s meeting was first published by ITV’s political editor Robert Peston, who said that conversations between the two leaders were a ‘recurring loop’.
During the Davos summit in Switzerland last week, Mrs Merkel repeated calls for British submissions to the EU over what it wants from a trade deal.
She said: ‘It is up to the United Kingdom to say how close it wants this partnership to be.’
The German government refused to comment on the leak yesterday.
The criticism from the EU’s most influential politician is likely to irritate the Prime Minister as she tries to quell concerns among Brexiteers that the UK could be headed for a ‘soft’ split.
It will also prove concerning given Germany’s increasingly staunch negotiating stance, insisting Britain should not be seen to benefit from a Brexit deal.
However, eyebrows will be raised in Downing Street over the tone of the comments as Mrs Merkel is faced with a domestic crisis in Germany.
Her Christian Democratic Union is locked in talks with Social Democrat leader Martin Schulz to form a coalition government, despite splits over immigration policy.
Germany has been through months of stalemate after Mrs Merkel’s party suffered a slump at the polls during the September election when the Chancellor was faced with a resurgent far Right.
Mrs Merkel has been forced to accept strict controls on migration – a significant U-turn from the policy that allowed in 1million refugees in 2015.
‘Come on, what do you want?’