Newspapers are taking comfort from comments by the French finance minister Michel Sapin that everything including freedom of movement (FoM) will be on the table for discussion in the Brexit negotiations (HERE). This is ignoring the very explicit statement yesterday by Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, that the four freedoms are NOT negotiable. Discussing FoM is of course allowed but only if we give up tariff free access to the single market, at huge cost to our economy.
Leaving this aside, many newspapers ignore other comments he made including, “What surprised me is that those who argued for Brexit, and whom the people backed, were prepared for absolutely none of the consequences of this Brexit. They suddenly discovered difficulties and problems. We are discovering them with them.
"But for the UK of course it’s much more serious. When you take a position you should analyse all the aspects and all the consequences. Perhaps therefore if the people of Britain had known the consequences they wouldn’t have voted the way they did. But the vote is there and we have to deal with the consequences.”
He was echoing comments by John Kerry, US Secretary of State, earlier this week saying the prime minister felt powerless "to start negotiating a thing that he doesn’t believe in” and “has no idea how he would do it”. Apparently referring to Boris Johnson, one of the front runners to replace Cameron, Kerry added: “And by the way, nor do most of the people who voted to do it.”
They're laughing at us and this is what hurts.
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