Good question. All a bit puzzling so far because both sides seem to be setting themselves up for a fall before any progress can be made.

As I see it, Barnier is on more fragile ground because whilst he does come across well, he has far more pressure behind him. Johnson is fresh off the back of a remarkable election win, a huge majority and essentially can do what he wants. Barnier, for all his bluster, is only representing one part of the EU and is subject to far more potential slings and arrows.

Suspect that much of this at the moment is about trying to protect Varadkar who is in the middle of an election campaign and any sign that he might not be able to protect Irelands agricultural exports to the UK plays BADLY for him.

Also a lot of it is the usual bluster but even so, this seems a lot more heated than I would have expected. One side has to back down significantly before they can even sit down at the table.

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." - 1984 - George Orwell.

The only corroboration you have provided is your statement, so we must take your word for it.... fine but how many times have yyrefused to take the word of other posters on here when it doesn’t suit your agenda?

LOL. A nice image.

Perhaps we should all not be reading to much into these opening salvo's. Both sides are playing to home audiences but the reality is that Johnson has more skin in the game so to speak. He is the one elected, he is the one who can act far more decisively.

Be interesting to see if the Europeans might have misjudged this one a little and are not reading the mood of the nation right. Johnson is an effective dictator now. For almost all of the previous shenanigans, they were dealing with a British PM who campaigned for Remain and who had a precarious Remain leaning HoC dragging at her heels.

Totally different ball game now. And, and I accept it might be perception, I am wondering if Barnier has not quite come to terms with that.

Edited by Matov (04 Feb 2020 7.57am)

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." - 1984 - George Orwell.

So far the noise we are hearing is from the Eurocrats and the Irish PM who is in the middle of an election.

For the past 3 years leavers have been saying the EU has more to lose then we do and Remainers have disagreed. Well to a point the Remainers were correct because the past 3 years have been about the withdrawal agreement which is essentially a one off deal with a temporary arrangement. So the elected politicians have been content to allow the Eurocrats to run the show as they have guessed very little damage would be done.

However we are now at the sharp end and if the UK does not get a trade deal this will have real consequences for companies and jobs across the EU on a long term basis.

Barnier and co have been allowed to dictate policy by the elected governments but I have a feeling that if progress is not made some of those governments will start to challenge that.

We are a major export market for many of the EU countries for example we are Frances biggest agricultural market, will the farmers be happy to keep quiet if tariffs are put on their produce and UK supermarkets look elsewhere?

What about German carmakers? The industry worldwide is in a slump they need this like a whole in the head.

And as Matov says our PM is now in a strong domestic position and the siren voices of the opposition parties
telling the EU they can block Brexit are now silenced. The EU knows it is no longer relevant what Blair, Campbell and Swinson say it's what Boris says that matters and he can deliver Parliament.

So I think that both sides will start with tough positions after all this is a negotiation I would be very surprised if the EU fails to budge and if it doesn't more fool them. As for the Irish well Varadker can make a noise but already Irish farmers are putting pressure on as they are scared we will look elsewhere. New Zealand lamb anyone?

One more point

But Barnier earns more money - what a surprise. Boris should refuse to negotiate unless commissioners take a pay cut - and make sure the French public get the news. That's politics.

Red and Blue Army!

She was but in someways, at least at the time, she seemed the right choice. A compromise meant to allay the fears of the Remainers.

At the time, there was zero talk about a second referendum and the assumption was that Parliament would do what it had just been told to do. Even calling the 2017 election made sense given the polling. Plenty of 9pm Analysts out there to decry that now but the data available spoke of her winning a bigger majority. I get why her team pushed her to take the plunge.

Plenty to criticize in how the campaign was subsequently handled along with a warning for the Tories today because Labour did propose a substantially 'socialist' manifesto and did bloody well on the back of a pledge to honour the Brexit vote. That is what I fail to grasp about the people who pushed for their second referendum stance in 2019. That was suicidal for them.

May simply was not the right person for the job. Probably never was but that does come with a huge dollop of hindsight.

And gets us where we are now with perhaps the combination of her unsuitability allied with Ms Gina Millers interference meaning we are more likely to get the Brexit people like me wanted.

Strange how life works out.

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." - 1984 - George Orwell.