After more than two years of what the New York Times described as “sphinx-like neutrality”, Queen Elizabeth II has finally offered some advice to the UK’s fractious political establishment: Stop squabbling and get on with it.
That was a paraphrase, of course – but it effectively captures the spirit of the Queens first public remarks about the ongoing battle to avert both a ‘no deal’ Brexit and a withdrawal deal that could risk the UK becoming a “vassal state” of the EU by leaving it trapped in the customs union should the Irish Backstop come into play.
The 92-year-old Queen took the British press by surprise when she said during her annual speech to the local Women’s Institute in Norfolk that “every generation faced fresh challenges”, using language couched in the neutral conventions of the monarchy to gently nudge the House of Commons to figure it out. In her speech, she called on MPs to find “common ground” and “new answers” for the problems plaguing the “modern age,” according to Reuters.
“As we look for new answers in the modern age, I for one prefer the tried and tested recipes, like speaking well of each other and respecting different points of view; coming together to seek out the common ground; and never losing sight of the bigger picture,” the queen said.
The plea marked the Queen’s first foray into British politics since 2014, when she softly urged the Scots to carefully consider their options ahead of the constituent nation’s independence referendum.
Outraged at the Queen’s break from the tradition of impartiality, Jacob Reese-Moog, a leader of the Brexiteer European Research Group, said the Queen would have only intervened in this way on the advice of No. 10, according to the Sunday Times.
“Constitutionally, the Queen can only speak on the advice of her ministers and could not have said this without the agreement of the government,” he said. “This is not the Queen’s point of view; it is Her Majesty’s Government speaking. There is not a private view of the Queen.”
But if the latest round of Brexit-related leaks is to be believed (if history is any guide, a healthy degree of skepticism is warranted), May could be on the cusp of winning support from the DUP (the 10 MPs from Northern Ireland who prop up May’s government) and some Brexiteers for a modified version of her deal that will either include time restrictions on the backstop, or an “alternative arrangement” that has yet to be determined.
Of course, winning support from Parliament is only half the battle: At this point, the more difficult task might be winning over the EU27.
via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2Hzf6M7 Tyler Durden