I have only just come across this aphorism from Nietzsche:
There are no facts, only interpretations.
To that I would add this quotation from a post "Brexit Redux" by Chris Grey on his blog on the 21st November
Our
opinions are facts, your facts are just opinions is a logic doomed to infinite
circularity.
Grey attributes this attitude to the Brexiteers, though I suppose it applies to some extend to all of us.
However, I will try to assess Mrs May's current performance as far as possible on verifiable facts rather than just opinions.
I seems to be a fact that Mrs May is gaining a good deal of respect from the public for her doughty, determined fight, inside and outside parliament, to influence opinion in favour of her "deal." She certainly shows guts. " GGD,Number 3 " Guts Grit and Determination, was the cry of the Roedean girls to any member of their teams who appeared to be slacking off. or so I've read somewhere.
Well, she's certainly showing that.
But is it determination in a just cause, or shear obstinacy in a hole she has dug for herself?
In her favour, she didn't actually dig the hole - David Cameron did that, but she did offer herself to make the best of the situation.
This is where I believe the facts show that she continued and continues digging.
1. From the word "Go" she showed no recognition that the referendum vote was far from decisive. (As spelled out ad nauseam on this blog and elsewhere , in an electorate of 45milion , 17 million voted to Leave, but 16 million voted to Remain, and 12
million who were entitled to vote didn't. Add to that the 3
million nationals of other EU countries living in the UK whoweren't allowed
to vote, as neither were the one and a half million 16 and 17 year-olds. Further,
both Scotland and Northern Ireland voted strongly in favour of remain as
did Gibraltar (overwhelmingly, I think).
2. Nor has there been any recognition of the flaws in the Referendum procedure as these have been revealed in the past couple of years: the lies told, the overspending, the possibility of foreign interference.
3. Article 50 was triggered prematurely without proper preparation or plan, presumably to placate the arch Brexiteers in he party, and hold the party together - thus placing party interest over the national interest.
4. She drew "red lines" before the negotiations even began and has had to retreat on all of them.
5. She places great emphasis on the argument that "the British people just want us to get on with it." I'm sure a lot do, but that is not a responsible basis on which to make the most serious decision of the last 70 years.
5. She places great emphasis on the argument that "the British people just want us to get on with it." I'm sure a lot do, but that is not a responsible basis on which to make the most serious decision of the last 70 years.
6. She now appeals to all MPs to put "the interests of their constituents" above their personal preferences.
That last point is pure hypocrisy. As a Remain voter herself she knows full well that the best interests of all constituents is to Remain in the EU. No deal (and certainly not no-deal) comes anywhere near the advantages we already have by being members of the EU.
So in my view Mrs May's stamina and determination are not to be admired, but to be seen as bone-headed obstinacy in the mistaken interests of her own future and that of her party.
"C'est maggifique, mais ce n'est pas bonne pour la Grande Bretagne." to adapt another well-known phrase.