May pushes through plan for soft Brexit

The British cabinet has agreed on a plan for the Brexit negotiations. Prime Minister Theresa May may achieve her goal of pushing through a free trade zone with the EU. Brexit secretary David Davis, a proponent of a hard Brexit, has resigned. Some journalists find the government's soft Brexit approach outrageous. Others believe the final word hasn't been spoken yet.

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The Daily Telegraph (GB) /

No real break with Brussels

This Brexit plan is a betrayal of the voters, The Daily Telegraph complains:

“We are still technically leaving, more or less, but there will be no revolution, no new deal between elites and voters, no great reset. Millions of people have indeed been betrayed, let down by a political class that had promised to implement the referendum in its true spirit: it is now clear that we are en route for associate membership of the EU, a looser, renegotiated arrangement rather than a real break. It is the sort of deal that, in his dreams, David Cameron might have obtained to stop us from leaving, had the Germans been amenable; it will be the most limited of all possible Brexits.”

BBC (GB) /

A new figurehead for May's dissatisfied Tories

Brexit Minister David Davis's resignation could pave the way for another struggle between Prime Minister May and Tory Eurosceptics, writes Laura Kuenssberg, chief political reporter of BBC News:

“Theresa May had carefully constructed her cabinet with a balance of Brexiteers and former Remainers. With no majority, and unhappiness on the back benches, it adds instability at a time when the prime minister was pursuing calm. And when she was hoping to project an image to Brussels of authority and stability, it is a headache she could well do without. He could provide a rallying point from outside government for those forces in the Tory party who believe the Brexit plan the prime minister is pursuing is not the Brexit that a clear but narrow majority of the public chose.”

Tages-Anzeiger (CH) /

The EU has other battles to fight

The EU will accept the British cabinet's Brexit plan, Tages-Anzeiger suspects:

“Brussels will move far beyond the agreed extent. The EU has far bigger battles to fight on other front lines, and May would lay the blame for the weakening of another key European economy on Brussels from now on. A rigorous no from the EU would also encourage the hardliners in the UK and strengthen the populists' calls for breaking of the negotiations. Brussels accuses London of cherry-picking. This is very much in vogue in Europe right now. The British will benefit from it.”