The 1,000 days that have passed since the referendum of June 2016 have neither brought Brexit closer nor made Europe more accommodating. The setbacks suffered by the British government — I remember the boldness of the first few days after the Brexit vote quickly turning into confusion at summit after summit in Brussels — are certainly no victory for the EU, which will emerge smaller and poorer.
Today chaos reigns. Nobody knows what is really going on, and nobody knows what is going to happen. The current confusion in Westminster seems to me worse than the machinations of Italian politics.
Having gained nothing more from this week’s Brussels summit than a bit more time, London is yet to make clear to the EU what it really wants. There is also the question of who will be responsible for finding the solution. The government? Parliament? Ireland? The main political parties? The British people? The European Commission? The European Council?
In the absence of the necessary clarity — not only from the British government but unfortunately also from the Labour opposition — the Brexit process can lead to a positive conclusion only under three conditions.
First, responsibility for the negotiations, for setting the perimeters of Brexit and the physiognomy of the new relationship between London and Brussels, must lie with the British parliament. It requires a new agreement in which Theresa May, the UK prime minister, is no longer the promoter but the broker. And there must be no more hypocrisy and no more blame.
Up to now, parliament has taken refuge behind what the Italian poet Eugenio Montale once called “that which we are not, that which we do not want”.
It is time for Westminster to take control of the Brexit process and lead it towards an outcome that all parties can live with — the British people who wanted it and the Europeans who will pay the price. It is about accountability and — dare I say? — decency.
Second, if parliament fails in its attempt to avoid a no-deal Brexit — the worst possible result and certainly not what people voted for in June 2016 — then the public must have its say in a referendum. This is the democratic way: when in trouble, vote.
The third and final condition is that the UK and Europe commit themselves to stopping the scapegoating that has blighted the negotiations. It was clear from the outset that Brussels’ procedural approach would collide with the confusion that resulted from the 2016 referendum. “We want to leave,” British voters said. “OK,” the EU replied, “but how?”
As a result, there are big problems that have yet to be resolved. And this is not just about the Irish backstop nor whether the UK should take part in the elections to the European parliament in May.
Whether you prefer that the UK leaves or remains a member of the EU, we are all in this together — the British and Europeans alike. The outcome of this process is important to all of us.
As an Italian senator, I am in no position to give advice to a British prime minister, nor, indeed, to the European Commission, with which I have had many clashes in the past. But I care deeply about the fate of the thousands of Italians who live and work in Britain and who need a clear and reliable guarantee of their rights, and those of their families.
When I was Italian prime minister, however, we were able to combine firmness in the face of our partners’ resistance with the necessary flexibility on issues no less difficult than Brexit — the migration crisis, for example.
After the umpteenth sinking of a vessel carrying migrants across the Mediterranean, we made clear to our European partners that this was not an Italian tragedy, but one that affected Europe as a whole. At the beginning, many ignored the problem. Today it is one of the main issues on the EU’s agenda.
As an Italian and proud citizen of Europe, I say to both sides: there is no time left for mistrust or tit-for-tat. The UK and the EU know that the interests of British and European citizens will be better served by the intelligent and subtle application of the rules.
It now falls to the common sense and wisdom of the British parliament and European leaders to ensure a consensual separation. It is in everyone’s interests to find a quick, respectful and sensible compromise. As the Spice Girls sang: “Now don’t go wasting my precious time/Get your act together we could be just fine”.
I still bear the scars of a referendum on my back. I lost my job as prime minister after a plebiscite on constitutional reform in the same year as Britain voted to leave the EU. I know that those willing to tell lies to the electorate can win a referendum, but that they will eventually lose the battle with reality.
In Britain, Leave campaigners told voters that the UK’s departure from the EU would be simple and straightforward.
We have seen that this is not the case. And it is the worst off who will pay the highest economic price. So it is time to let the people put an end to this thousand-day saga with a new vote.
The writer was prime minister of Italy between 2014 and 2016