My Secret Brexit Diary: A Glorious Illusion - Michel Barnier

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ISBN : 978-1509550869
Verdict : 👍👍👍

As with most things, actions, or events there is always an alternate viewpoint, so as a Brit, when I started reading this book, I was expecting some bias,However,  I think Michel  kept his emotions intact when writing this and I didn’t spot the bias I was expecting  despite the odd odd comment which may have been justified. 

 


Irrespective of your political posture, you really have to admire Mr Barnier who is seasoned politician and a great choice by the EU to represent their representative to  negotiate with the UK and someone who ‘prefers transparency to leaks’ p55) which with the quote on p69 “ Clearly, in negotiation we will need to pay as much attention to the language of gesture as to that of words” sets the tone of the diary.

 

I did highlight great chunks of this book so I can’t replay all the key bits – but below are some small snippets for certain days  from the book that either made me think or just left me disappointed in our UK) negotiations tactics;


-       Tuesday 3rd October 2017 - . ‘Many speak of the UK as if they were still living in the nineteenth century, with a kind of nostalgia for what was once the British Empire’

-       Wed 4th October 2017 – ‘ don’t want to laugh at this, let alone mock her for it. She is a courageous and tenacious woman surrounded by a great many men who are more interested in their personal fortunes than in the future of their country’ 

-       Thur 12 April 2018 – ‘Here again the British are struggling to come to terms with the direct consequences of their decision to leave the European Union’

-       Mon 9th July 2018 – 'In truth, Boris Johnson has made so many blunders and let slip so many verbal ‘witticisms’ that his appointment as Foreign Secretary was regarded as incongruous in many capitals’

-       Wed 9th Jan 2019 – ‘Every day that passes bring further proof that the British people are not being told the truth, and that minister themselves are lying by omission when it suits their purposes’

-       Thur 5th March 2020 – The debate underway in the UK involves a conflict between economic realism and political ideology.

-       Thur 10th Sept 2020 –‘Throwing a dead cat on the table’  - ‘Still the same old tactics blowing hot and cold and playing for time. None of this is very impressive.’

-       Wed 9th December 202 – ‘A lot of wasted time and controversy only to end up simply honouring their own signature and applying what had already been decided and ratified’… ‘Boris Johnson Barks’


Irrespective of your vote to stay or leave the EU -  as a Brit reading this diary reinforces the impression that we did not put our best talent against the EU and the people of Britain were not kept in the loop in relation to our exit from the EU.


With Brexit in the rear view - I would strongly advise reading this book - its a good account.

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