My Secret Brexit Diary: A Glorious Illusion

I am Irish, pro-EU, and regretted the British decision to leave. I dislike the current strain of Anglophone sovereigntist nationalism - and the obscurantism and scorn of Fact that go with it. I have followed the post-Brexit saga for five years, smiling sadly as the obvious slowly dawned on the British: its only land border with the EU - the Irish Border - would be the Achilles heel.And into it all, as unifier and negotiator on the EU side, came a Frenchman, Michel Barnier. His unruffled calm, patience and civility over the entire course of the negotiations with the UK were a wonder. Similarly, his Herculean efforts to ensure the inseparable unity of the EU-26 in support of Ireland. For the first time, British divide-and-conquer failed totally, as the UK faced a Union at least five times its own size, at one in support of the interests of its Irish fellow-member.M. Barnier’s book is part travelogue, part Who’s Who, part critique - almost catty at times - of (usually English Conservative) personalities. My oh my, Barnier does not like Frost. The story is a well-written living history which, given the imperturbability of its author and the frequent dryness of the subject, I found extremely readable and compelling. Barnier the politician is evident: he is on good terms with and has a good word for (almost) everyone. And he got his result, forcing the UK to follow the EU structure of negotiations and forestalling UK efforts to ‘peel off’ the big EU powers to the detriment of Ireland.All in all, an excellent read from this great Frenchman, revered almost universally in Ireland. Buy it.

Some reviewers have suggested this book is difficult to read, but I found the short daily diary entries very easy to read, because you could easily pick the book up and put it down again.This book is possibly something of a ‘marmite book’ – if you are a brexiteer you are going to hate it, and if you are not, then it is going to clearly demonstrate to you that the UK did not have many cards at all, let alone all of them. And clearly the EU did not need the UK more than vice versa. The position of the EU was largely that it was the UK who left the EU, not the EU who had left the UK – and in consequence, the EU really did not need to offer the UK anything – let alone allow it to cherry pick and retain the aspects of EU membership that suited it, whilst not being obliged to comply with the rules.Michele Barnier describes in great detail the thought and attention which went into the composition of his team, and of their clear objectives – in stark contrast to the UK who at best ‘winged things’. The now famous photograph of David Davis’ team prepared with nothing more than a smile, opposite the EU team replete with reams of page marked folders pretty well sums up much of the British approach. At least Davis turned up that day.The EU objectives were very simple. The maintenance of the single market and it’s fundamental principles; protection of the rights of citizens; consciousness of the impact of Brexit on the island of Ireland; and the insistence that a country could not retain the benefits of membership having chosen to leave the EU.Notwithstanding the red lines that Theresa May drew up which boxed the UK into a very tight corner and closed many doors, Michele Barnier is quite sympathetic towards her, and laments that she spent more time having to deal with those in her own party whose interests were more related to their own fortunes than the benefit of the UK.It is possibly not necessary to say more about the efforts of team Johnson than they were often viewed as opportunistic, bombastic, naïve and childish.All in all, this is a very good chronicle which details an episode of enormous self-harm by a country - who clearly had not thought through, or been prepared to fully accept the consequences of its decision to impose political, social and economic sanctions upon itself.

What a fantastic read, and, while we all know how the story ends, it still makes for a fine read! It is factual but not boring. One has a feeling for the degree of commitment and sheer hard work it took to arrive at the end point. No doubt there is a.little who showing in places, perhaps it is warranted? After it all, I still don't understand why Brexit rather than some renegotiation by the Brits, but that is now a "what if" scenario, but M. Barnier tells a great story and is generous in his recognition of all involved, high and low, British and European.

An excellent book, exceedingly well written about the greatest act of stupidism by the inhabitants of this treasured isle. Barrier could easily have made it complicated but he didn't. He also exposes how useless Raab and Davies were in the role of negotiator; typical Tories, no plan, no preparation and no idea what they were dealing with. Johnson and the unelected Frosty were no better except they had a plan but no idea of its ramifications and an expectation that the EU wouldn't actually implement the agreement. It is quite clear that the Tories hadn't bothered to understand how the EU or the EU parliament worked and as a result we ended up the lovers as recent events have proven. Excellent book.

A insightful read into the behind the scenes scenes that dominated international headlines for too long. Sometimes cynical and critical, sometimes forthright and honest regret, Mr Barnier has written in important book on the rise of the EU and an ego-testing existential test posed by the exit of demandingly independent club member.

A must-read for those who believe(d) the Brexit promises or people who voted for Boris Johnson.

This book, a diary, promised to be a long, perhaps difficult read. Wrong, it is almost a page turner! It is essential reading for anyone who mourns England's exit from Europe. M Barnier team of Europe's best, achieved the exit with great fairness. Whilst none could understand the motive of the English leavers

What can I say - a tour-de-force account of the negotiations. In parts perhaps a little too generous towards his fellow negotiators and EU staff and extraordinarily candid about the repeated failures of British diplomacy which seemed to have only one strategy - divide the EU and then pick and choose. When that did not work (although in Downing Street's defence, it had done effectively for 500 years prior), the Brits had no other game. A fascinating read.

Recommended reading for all Brits.