They also lacked preparation. These Eton boys thought they'll wing it, as they always did before:When I asked Michel Barnier if May or her ministers had ever made a no deal threat behind closed doors, he replied emphatically, "No",
The problem is that the EU has created its own political class, people whose careers, pensions (as Paul said), worldview and self-respect are intimately tied to the survival of the EU. Most UK politicians don't really care, IMHO."I was very much under the view that there would be somewhere in No 10 a very small, very secret group, putting together an almighty chart, a big plan of how we were going to negotiate and crucially what our overall objectives were. So, the prime minister - rather like a Bond villain - would be sitting with her white cat on her lap with this big plan behind her. I'd love to say that that room existed. I never found it."
He wasn't the only one. In Brussels, top EU officials were waiting to see what the UK would propose.
"We thought they are so brilliant there will be, in some vault somewhere in Westminster, a Harry Potter type book with all the tricks and all the things in it to do."
Frans Timmermans, first vice president of the European Commission, was shocked by what he saw and heard. Or rather what he didn't:
"I thought, 'Oh my God, they haven't got a plan…they haven't got a plan… it's like Lance Corporal Jones'. It was, 'Don't panic, don't panic,' running around like idiots."
I have seen the point made that May & co studiously excluded anybody from the negotiating team that had any experience with Brussels, based on the fear that they had all gone native. So, a bunch of Eton boys winging it sounds about right.I think Paul has a point that the UK negotiating team lacked cojones: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49008826
They also lacked preparation. These Eton boys thought they'll wing it, as they always did before:When I asked Michel Barnier if May or her ministers had ever made a no deal threat behind closed doors, he replied emphatically, "No",
The problem is that the EU has created its own political class, people whose careers, pensions (as Paul said), worldview and self-respect are intimately tied to the survival of the EU. Most UK politicians don't really care, IMHO."I was very much under the view that there would be somewhere in No 10 a very small, very secret group, putting together an almighty chart, a big plan of how we were going to negotiate and crucially what our overall objectives were. So, the prime minister - rather like a Bond villain - would be sitting with her white cat on her lap with this big plan behind her. I'd love to say that that room existed. I never found it."
He wasn't the only one. In Brussels, top EU officials were waiting to see what the UK would propose.
"We thought they are so brilliant there will be, in some vault somewhere in Westminster, a Harry Potter type book with all the tricks and all the things in it to do."
Frans Timmermans, first vice president of the European Commission, was shocked by what he saw and heard. Or rather what he didn't:
"I thought, 'Oh my God, they haven't got a plan…they haven't got a plan… it's like Lance Corporal Jones'. It was, 'Don't panic, don't panic,' running around like idiots."
Yes, but successfully winging it takes more knowledge, preparation and skill than following a carefully crafted plan, not less. Not unlike doing improv comedy.Nothing wrong with winging it. You have to to a great extent in negotiations. You all know that.
“Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity"Nothing wrong with winging it. You have to to a great extent in negotiations. You all know that.
It’s exactly the same. Except for being the opposite. In improv the only rule is to never say “No.” In negotiating you try not to say “Yes.”Yes, but successfully winging it takes more knowledge, preparation and skill than following a carefully crafted plan, not less. Not unlike doing improv comedy.Nothing wrong with winging it. You have to to a great extent in negotiations. You all know that.