Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Brexit Drags On

There is talk and written opinion which holds that something will happen in the U.K./Brexit mess in the next day or two. Most likely scenario involves Theresa May stepping down as leader of the Tory Party, and thus as Prime Minister.

At least one headline suggests the last remaining pro-Brexit member of her cabinet has resigned since yesterday. And MPs who have supported her in the past are announcing they will do so no longer.

How much more elegant, and dignified it would have been for her to have resigned as P.M. when Commons first failed to endorse her compromise Brexit plan. What she's done instead has been embarrassing for her, for her party, and for the United Kingdom. That collective embarrassment has accomplished exactly nothing.

On the other hand, the U.K. is fully capable of dithering for another 3-4 months without making a decision. That outcome wouldn't particularly surprise anyone who has watched the debacle of the past 3-4 months.

One thing to watch for is the distribution of U.K. votes in the election tomorrow for its MEPs, Members of the European Parliament. The more disastrous the results are for Conservative and Labour candidates, the more likely something will happen sooner rather than later.