Thread by @AlbertoNardelli

Salzburg. A short thread:

1) Nothing that Tusk said on Chequers, that Macron said about some Brexiteers (while stressing he respected the choice of British voters), and that Merkel said about the single market and four freedoms, is anything they hadn’t said before.

2) Surprise today is in many ways due to misreading the past few weeks and months. Misplaced optimism and reports stemming from who knows where, ignoring reality, confusing details that evolve all the time with substance and principles that have remained intact since day one.

3) May’s Chequers or nothing approach has frustrated many. It is not viewed as strength, but worrying weakness: not having the strength to do what’s needed to get an agreement, and push it over the line back home.

4) Attempts to divide and conquer have backfired spectacularly:

- The 27 leaders talk to each other. Who knew.

- Barnier’s mandate and instructions come from the EU27.

5) Daily tactical blunders and empty threats did the rest: ‘we’ll change the deal after 2019’, 'we won’t pay the bill’, reports of divergent food standards via a US trade deal (and how that reconciles with asking to be in the single market for goods, who knows) etc etc.

6) Quite a few will blame officials in the same way they blame Barnier for being “too rigid”. Yes, Chequers is flawed but at the heart of the UK stance and strategy, just like EU27's, are political decisions (red lines), direction & leadership in a very asymmetrical negotiation

7) So where are things at?

Exactly where they were the day before Salzburg:

- in urgent need of a backstop that avoids a hard border in Northern Ireland

- and then a political declaration precise enough to not question the integrity of the single market post-2019

Longer version buzzfeed.com/albertonardell…