Reading between the lines of an opaque communique and especially seeing the expression on May’s face as she was driven away, it is clear that it was cordial and friendly but nothing was achieved by this well trailed dinner. Just as nothing concrete was achieved by her Florence speech. Maybe a cozier atmosphere but the reality is the same. From the very beginning the Brits have misjudged the mood of the EU and misread the Continental political mindset.
British political traditions are ideological and built on simple majority. But, post the traumas of the twentieth century, the countries of mainland Europe, both west and east, know the dangers of ideologies and the raw power that comes with majority. Their politics are now procedural and built on coalition. Moreover their aim is not to help Great Britain, which after all has chosen to rock the boat and leave. It is rather to steady the ship and preserve the Union. That view is shared widely across the whole EU, not just among the political class, but by business, the work force and the people.
So negotiations, which are often at cross purposes, remain stalled. It is now only a matter of time before the Government will realise that it is not going to get what it wants, whatever it is. That is when things really start to get ugly. Because then it becomes not a story about sunlit uplands but about losers. Multitudes of them. And, mark these word well, they will be angry.