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Betty MacDonald, the author of The Egg and I and the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series is beloved all over the world. Don't miss Wolfgang Hampel's Betty MacDonald biography and his very witty interviews on CD and DVD!
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Jeremy Hunt and Brexit
Brexit: Labour rift proves it cannot be relied on, Hunt tells EU
Foreign secretary says deal can only be saved by addressing Tory and DUP concerns
Jeremy Hunt
has seized on Labour’s split, claiming to European foreign ministers it
proved that only concessions to win round Conservative rightwingers
will get the Brexit deal through the Commons. During a frenetic day of lobbying in Brussels, the foreign secretary
privately counselled his EU counterparts that the opposition could not
be relied upon, even if the government pivoted to backing a customs
union. The peeling away of seven MPs from the Labour party
was said by Hunt on Monday to illustrate that the Brexit deal would
only be saved by addressing Tory and DUP concerns about the “indefinite”
nature of the Irish backstop, which could keep the UK in a customs
union to avoid a hard Irish border. Stephen Barclay, the Brexit
secretary, and the attorney-general, Geoffrey Cox, are expected to
return to Brussels on Wednesday, after Monday’s two hours of talks over
the backstop with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. It is understood that Cox laid out what he would need to revise his
legal opinion. The two sides are exploring the possible legal means to
reconcile the gap between the Irish protocol’s description of the
backstop as “temporary” and its “indefinite” legal effect. But while Downing Street is banking on a change in Cox’s legal
opinion persuading Brexiters to back the deal, there appears to be
little hope of the withdrawal agreement itself being reopened as
promised by the prime minister in January in response to the historic defeat of her deal with the EU by 230 votes. On Tuesday, the French EU affairs minister, Nathalie Loiseau,
reiterated the refusal of the 27 member states to renegotiate, and
expressed those doubts voiced in many capitals about the government’s
strategy. She also warned that Brussels would not simply delay Brexit to avoid a
no deal, urging the prime minister to think again about the future
relationship so as to garner cross-party votes. “We are waiting for Mrs May to come with some precise proposals
because she said that she had some things to tell us,” Loiseau said.
“Now time is pressing. We are about a month away from the UK’s exit, an
exit which will take place on March 29 because she hasn’t given any
signals that there will be a delay.” The French minister added: “We are in favour of a delay either for
some days for technical reasons, [or] if it’s for political reasons
there has to be a real advance on something that is supported by a
majority in the British parliament which corresponds to our red lines,
our negotiating directives. “If we have to talk about a reformulation of our future relationship
it’s entirely possible to do that. If it’s about reopening the
withdrawal agreement we have all already said that this point is not
negotiable” Michael Roth, Germany’s minister for Europe, echoed those comments, adding that the UK had not come forward with any new thinking in recent days. “An extension would only make sense if we have new substantial ideas
on the table. Otherwise there’s no point. And of course we would look at
such a suggestion closely should the British in fact decide to ask for
an extension,” he said. “But this is solely the responsibility of the British, we can’t make
such a suggestion. And then we have to unanimously vote on it. In the
end the deadlines are very clear: if there is a substantial extension,
for example past the 1 July, then of course there will also have to be
elections in Great Britain, but I don’t want to speculate about this.”
Why extend the Brexit transition period?
Of the British calls for a renegotiation, Roth said there was “no
point in abstractly demanding changes or to make demands, which are
completely unacceptable for us”. He said: “There can be no limit to the backstop, there can’t be an
automatic expiration of the backstop. Therefore we will continue to be
open to dialogues, after all we want to find a sensible solution, we
want to prevent a hard Brexit. “It would be the worst, both for Great Britain as well as for the
EU27. But right now I do not see the necessary willingness to budge on
the part of the British and this doesn’t make things easier because time
is running out.” A spokesman for the commission said the prime minister would be
meeting with the European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on
Wednesday evening. “We cannot accept a time limit to the backstop or a
unilateral exit clause and further talks will be held this week to see
whether a way through can be found that could gain the broadest possible
support in the UK parliament and respect the guidelines agreed by the
European council”, the spokesman said. In an interview with Politico,
Hunt nevertheless claimed to expect a significant breakthrough in the
next few days, insisting it would be “definitely more than a
clarification” while falling short of a rewriting of the withdrawal
agreement. The prime minister has until now been demanding a time limit on the backstop, a unilateral exit mechanism or its replacement with alternative arrangements. The considerable gap between British expectations and the stance of the EU has many worried in Brussels. Hunt, who met seven EU foreign ministers on Monday and the prime
minister of Flanders, nevertheless said a swift resolution was necessary
“for the sake of sanity of the population of Britain and indeed of
Europe”, adding that the end was in sight. The Commons is set to hear
from the prime minister on the progress of her negotiations next
Wednesday. The foreign secretary offered a sober analysis of what he would
regard as a success. “Success will be if in 10 years’ time people who
voted against Brexit, people in that 48%, are able to say, ‘You know
what, it hasn’t been as bad as I feared and the UK is flourishing’,”
Hunt said.
Wolfgang Hampel's very witty book 'Satire ist mein Lieblingstier' ( Satire is my favourite animal ) is No 1 Buecher de TOP List.
Wolfgang
Hampels sehr witziges Buch ' Satire ist mein Lieblingstier' ( Satire is
my favourite animal ) ist No 1 Buecher de TOP Liste.
Ich habe dieses Buch gekauft, weil Krimi-Königin Ingrid Noll Wolfgang ... sehr, daß wir die monatliche literarische Veranstaltung Vita Magica von Wolfgang Hampel bald einmal besuchen können.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club, founded by Wolfgang Hampel, has members in 40 countries.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald biography interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends. His Interviews have been published on CD and DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club. If you are interested in the Betty MacDonald Biography or the Betty MacDonald Interviews send us a mail, please.
Several original Interviews with Betty MacDonald are available.
We are also organizing international Betty MacDonald Fan Club Events for example, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Eurovision Song Contest Meetings in Oslo and Düsseldorf, Royal Wedding Betty MacDonald Fan Club Event in Stockholm and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fifa Worldcup Conferences in South Africa and Germany.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members are Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, Betty MacDonald's nephew, artist and writer Darsie Beck, Betty MacDonald fans and beloved authors and artists Gwen Grant, Letizia Mancino, Perry Woodfin, Traci Tyne Hilton, Tatjana Geßler, music producer Bernd Kunze, musician Thomas Bödigheimer, translater Mary Holmes and Mr. Tigerli.
