Britain leaves EU today without much fanfare, many hope

Today marks an historic moment, but almost nothing will happen.

A few Union Jack flags will be lowered from European Union buildings in Brussels, more will be waved in jubilation by Brexiteers in London at the moment of Britain’s departure.

But for most of the half a billion people in Britain and the bloc, it will be a normal night.

Britain and the bloc fought for four years over the terms of their divorce. Now, on the eve of one of the most significant events in European Union history, the political eruptions have ceased and an uneasy quiet reigns: the calm before the next storm.

Both sides are drained from the Brexit fight, and neither has much appetite for an extravaganza to mark the occasion.

The EU would prefer the night to pass without anyone noticing. After all, it is losing one of its biggest members, a diplomatic, military and economic power on a par with Germany and France. The U.K. is the first nation ever to turn its back on the EU in the 62-year history of this experiment in political union.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke this week of “the agony of parting.”

“We will always love you and we will never be far,” she said at the last session of the European Parliament with British participation.

Even British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, an energetic champion of Brexit, promised a “dignified exit” that is “mindful of everybody’s feelings.“

Arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage and his band of devotees will gather for patriotic songs and speeches in London’s Parliament Square. But Johnson is staying away from triumphalism and won’t be gloating, at least in public. Union Jacks will flutter in the streets around Parliament and buildings will be lit up in red, white and blue. But there won’t be fireworks.

Britain’s prime minister and his Conservative Party may have won election last month on a promise to “Get Brexit Done,” but he knows his country is almost as divided today as it was in June 2016, when voters decided to walk away from the bloc after more than four decades. The 52%-48% margin of victory for the “leave” side was so tight that it tore at the fabric of the nation, divided parties and families, split big cities from small towns and pitted England against Scotland.

KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH / AP British PM Boris Johnson anticipates a “dignified exit” today when Britain formally and finally exits the European Union.