Quote (fender @ 24 Mar 2019 01:45)
to be fair, it was just an outright impossible task to negotiate something that would both be realistic and at the same time even remotely close to what brexiteers had promised during the campaign. i said from day one that the EU couldn't even afford to do that if they WANTED to, but somehow the brits in general (and in this forum as well) seemed to be under the impression that with some shrewd negotiating there was a solution that would satisfy their main demands while maintaining the majority of the advantages a membership has.
there's a reason not a single one of the major leave campaigners stepped up to take political responsibility for the chaos they caused - they were smart enough to realise it's career suicide.
what i DO blame her personally for is that she wasted so much time trying to create a stable mandate without even having a concrete idea of what the EU negotiators would be willing or able to accept - and by the time she finally realised it, after getting completely rejected by the EU for her unrealistic vision of how a brexit deal could look like, she didn't have the courage to outright tell the brits what can and can't be done. but again, it was just virtually impossible to find a plan that would be supported by a political majority domestically, as well as realistically accepted by the EU.
i think it was possible to get a better deal, but may completely fucked up the negotiations despite holding some power herself
obviously the EU has no intent to do something else, when they got the "pay and obey, but have no say" deal from her
may completely failed to create some pressure and imo there was a possibility to get merkel on her side as well
a brexit chaos will hurt germany A LOT
however by now i believe that the current situation is not incompetence but sabotage and her appeasement has failed
its clear that the majority does not want a hard brexit so staying in EU is objectively the best solution right now
if that was the plan from the beginning is only speculation of course, but it would continue the history of voting until it fits or outright ignoring the will of the voters in europe