Rishi Sunak bolsters image by staying secretive on Northern Ireland deal

good morning Rishi Sunak hopes to open a deal between the UK and the EU to amend the Northern Ireland protocol and end the dispute between the UK, the EU and the US. But no matter what happened, he faced a backlash from his party. Some thoughts on how he’s trying to manage on his current record.

The wolf will sleep with der Leyen

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, met Sunak today to “put the problem with the protocol to bed” and improve relations between Brussels and London, in the words of one EU diplomat. (Find more analysis by George Parker and Jude Webber on Gamble Sunak in a long read here).

I will not speculate on whether the deal will be delayed or collapse at the last minute, or how the parliamentary parties will react to everything, because I think that will be enough. that from me through the days, weeks and months to come. But I want to talk about the politics that Sunak is doing now.

One person who is not very impressed with the prime minister’s approach is Anand Menon (morning Anand!), UK director at Changing Europe and professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King’s College London. Anand thinks Sunak needs to be more open about the negotiations to have a better chance of bringing in the Democratic Unionist Party and Brexiter ultras. Here’s what George and Jude had to say:

“It’s very political, very bad. They’re making deals in secret, confident they can fly. They’ve put a lot of credibility on the line.

I rarely disagree with Anand but on this occasion, I think Sunak’s secret approach is correct. As I have said before, the main problem for the DUP is that their handling of Brexit has left them in a position with three options: 1) invent time travel, 2) restore power sharing and facilitate the first Sinn Féin. first minister 3) or find an excuse to mothball devolved governance in Northern Ireland.

There is no prospect of Sunak reaching a deal that will help the DUP complete 1). It is accepted that if Sunak has reached a good deal it will force it to do 2). So my guess is that whatever Sunak agrees won’t be enough for the DUP, or the Tories. Some Conservative party Brexit ultras will lead from the DUP, while others just want an excuse to harm Sunak politically. Downing Street watched anxiously as about 60 Tory MPs, out of a total of 355, expressed concerns about the deal being struck with Brussels.

Negotiations more generally would also mean allowing hardline Brexiters to set their own terms and goals – which frankly, leaves no serious hope or prospect for Sunak to be able to do so.

By keeping his hands close to his chest, Sunak managed to give the impression that he was fighting hard, no matter how small the concessions he brought home or how close to the original offer at the beginning of the negotiations. Although he could not do enough to contain the consequences of the deal within the party, his secretive approach was the best.

Now try this

I really enjoyed the Alice Neel exhibition at the Barbican this weekend – Rachel Spence’s review, featuring some excellent pieces from the exhibition, is a great guide to Neel’s life and work. On the subject of art and Britain, I devoured this week’s FT Magazine cover story by John Gapper, about Joshua Reynolds’ “Omai Portrait” and why Britain is struggling to keep good British artwork in galleries.

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