Merkel’s boost for Boris deal
BORIS Johnson received a Brexit boost last night after Angela Merkel said the Irish backstop could be ditched if Britain finds an alternative in the next 30 days.
The German Chancellor vowed to ‘put our all’ into finding a way through as she gave the Prime Minister a surprisingly warm welcome on his first trip overseas.
In a challenge, she threw down the gauntlet to Mr Johnson, insisting it was his responsibility to solve the backstop ‘conundrum’ that has bedevilled Brexit talks.
But she also provided the
first glimmer of light, describing the backstop as a ‘fallback’ position and saying it was possible to find another solution ‘in the next 30 days’.
The Prime Minister immediately accepted her challenge, punching the air as he stood alongside her at a press conference in Berlin and declaring: ‘Come on!’
He welcomed the ‘blistering timetable of 30 days’ and insisted there were ‘abundant’ ways to avoid checks on the border.
Mrs Merkel’s challenge fired the starting gun on a frantic race for British officials to find technological alternatives to putting up infrastructure on the border. But Mr Johnson said he was confident a ‘winning deal’ will appear in the ‘final furlong’ of the negotiations.
‘I have, in my life, watched a lot of European negotiations and, believe me, it looks at first as though it is, you know, irresistible force and immovable object,’ he said.
‘What, in my experience, happens is that people find a way through.’
Mr Johnson borrowed a German phrase ‘wir schaffen das’ (‘we can do it’) that has been repeatedly used by Mrs Merkel during her time as Chancellor.
He said: ‘I just want to be absolutely clear with all our German friends and the German government that we in the UK want a deal. I believe that we can get a deal. We can get one, we can do it. Wir schaffen das, I think is the phrase.’
His use of the slogan drew laughs from the audience and a wry smile from Mrs Merkel.
The optimistic mood came in marked contrast to a gloomy warning from France that it believes a No Deal Brexit is the most likely outcome.
Mr Johnson heads to Paris this morning for talks with French president Emmanuel Macron.
In other developments:
▪ Ireland’s European Commissioner branded Mr Johnson an ‘unelected’ Prime Minister who is ‘gambling’ with the peace process;
▪ Ahead of Mr Johnson’s talks with Mr Macron, the French president said the UK could not offset a hard Brexit with a US trade deal, saying it would be a ‘historic vassalisation of Britain’;
▪Jeremy Corbyn invited opposition leaders and Tory rebels to a meeting next week to discuss ‘all tactics available to prevent No Deal’;
▪ In a joint letter to the Prime Minister, 17 royal colleges and charities said doctors were ‘unable to reassure patients’ that their health and care will not be damaged by a No Deal Brexit;
▪ No Deal opponent and former Tory minister Sir Oliver Letwin announced he will stand down as an MP at the next election;
▪ A poll found that support for the Tories has leapt 17 points in the past three months as the Brexit Party’s figures slumped;
▪ A senior executive at a major food retailer said the company was considering introducing rationing to ensure its shelves are not cleared in the event of No Deal.
Mr Johnson was yesterday welcomed by Mrs Merkel outside the Chancellery in Berlin. After watching a military display together, the two leaders held a press conference before sitting down for talks over dinner.
As they appeared before reporters, Mr Johnson said he had never received such a ‘wonderful’ welcome. But he delivered a robust warning to Mrs Merkel that the UK would leave the EU without a deal unless Brussels backed down and removed the backstop from the Withdrawal Agreement.
Mrs Merkel said the backstop had always been a ‘fallback position’ and would come into effect
‘A blistering timetable’
only if no other solution could be agreed that would protect the ‘integrity of the single market’.
Last night, Mr Macron said Britain’s demands were not workable as they currently stood.
He added: ‘Can [the cost of a hard Brexit] be offset by the USA? No. And even if it were a strategic choice it would be at the cost of an historic vassalisation of Britain.’
A Downing Street source tried to dampen expectations of a breakthrough, insisting there was only a ‘glimmer’ of hope the EU was prepared to change its position.
But the source said ‘things were warmer’ between the two leaders than expected and they believed Mr Johnson had surpassed the German Chancellor’s expectations.