This recent summary by Donald Tusk of the possible outcomes of triggering Article 50 raises two sorts of question. The first is about the debate within the UK, the second about the debate within the EU.
The victory by Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential elections should not come as a surprise. The perception post-2008 financial crisis amongst many voters, especially working-class voters, is one of "I am doing badly and somebody who does not look like me is doing well". In some cases this is true, despite the fact that western economies are growing. It also shows a failure, like Brexit, of liberal and social parties to address their historic core voters' concerns. The US election result is yet another vote against globalisation and the prevailing socio-economic and political order by a segment of society that has felt alienated and left-behind by mainstream parties for too long.
At the Conservative Party conference recently the Prime Minister talked about the spirit of citizenship, "That spirit that means you respect the bonds and obligations that make our society work. That means a commitment to the men and women who live around you, who work for you, who buy the goods and services you sell."
The UK food and drinks sector is becoming increasingly preoccupied with potential labour shortages, currency fluctuations, price spikes, and supply chain setbacks, as the possible pitfalls from Brexit loom large on the horizon.
I am absolutely clear - I will not allow a deal to be imposed on the British people that no-one has voted for.
The issue of 'benefit tourism' is as much of an issue in Germany, where it is known as 'social tourism', as it has been in Britain. The concern has been that people could simply use freedom of movement as a means of moving to another EU country where the system of social insurance is more generous than that of their home country. Although there is obviously a certain potential for such benefit tourism, answers to repeated questions in the Bundestag have consistently revealed that it is not a mass phenomenon. In May 2014 the German Government reported "a few dozen" "suspected" cases country-wide. The following month it reported that it had no data itself, but referred to a "not insignificant number" of "suspected" sham marriages.