Theresa May spent much of 2018 negotiating a Brexit divorce deal that Brussels would endorse; after doing so, she failed to obtain support among members of her own parliament, who are set to discuss her alternative withdrawal agreement in about ten days.
A group of German luminaries, including Angela Merkel’s successor as the CDU leader, has gone on a charm offensive in a last-ditch attempt to talk the United Kingdom into staying in the bloc.
A heartfelt message, published in The Times and signed by nearly two dozen politicians and industry leaders, calls on the UK to reverse its decision to leave the European Union.
“Without your great nation, this continent would not be what it is today: a community defined by freedom and prosperity,” the letter says, praising Britain’s role in re-building Europe following WW2 and not leaving Germany out during this process.
“We would miss Britain as part of the European Union, especially in these troubled times. Therefore Britons should know: from the bottom of our hearts, we want them to stay”, said the signatories, including Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauerh, a pro-European German politician who was elected in December to replace Angela Merkel at the helm of the nation’s ruling CDU party.
This cross-party charm offensive also includes Andrea Nahles, who heads Germany’s Social Democrats, Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, the co-leaders of the Green party, and former environment minister Norbert Rottgen.
Other signatories include Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche, Airbus CEO Thomas Enders, and Dieter Kempf, who chairs the Federation of German Industries.