Split by Brexit, May and Merkel Diverge on Wider Issues, Too.

[elleng]

'In another era they could have been allies.

Both vicars’ daughters and born just a few years apart, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain share an understated pragmatism and conservative roots, and have made their way in the still largely man’s world of politics. But there could be so much more.

At a time when President Trump is lashing out at friend and foe, and when the macho politics of strongmen is resurgent from Moscow to Manila, when not just the European Union but high-minded Western values, free trade and security alliances are under attack, the two women might have worked together to defend the liberal global order.

Instead, because of Britain’s vote in June to leave the European Union, they find themselves on opposite sides of the biggest divorce in recent European history, a chasm that has fundamentally reordered their priorities and is hindering them from cooperating on the broader issues.

At a meeting of European leaders in Malta last week, Mrs. May and Ms. Merkel abruptly canceled a planned bilateral meeting after a brief exchange during a sightseeing excursion was deemed enough. After lunch, when it came to discussing the threats facing Europe, Mrs. May was shown the door.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/world/europe/brexit-theresa-may-angela-merkel.html?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

1. Merkel is going to make Brexit as costly and humiliating to the UK and May as possible

May has taken on an impossible task that she herself does not believe in, the Conservatives should have let Johnson or Gove run with Brexit and let them own the failure.

[Denzil_DC]

2. Merkel's been trying to play good cop in all this

and tamp down some of the anger among the other EU countries at the prospect of Brexit. She's not had much evidence of gratitude from May in return, so perhaps her patience is running out.

The article's a bit of a stretch in claiming they have similar backgrounds. It's hard to compare an early life in Communist East Germany with a comfortable upbringing in rural Oxfordshire.

Merkel's also been elected to her post, which is more than May can claim.