A Special Place In Hell

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is shown where to stand by European Council President Donald Tusk before their meeting at the Europa building in Brussels, Belgium this morning.

This morning.

Brussels, Belgium.

Tusk, speaking at a joint news conference with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar after their talks in Brussels, reiterated the European Union’s stance that the Irish border backstop in the withdrawal agreement had to stay.

I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit, without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely,” Tusk said.

Varadkar said the Brexit deal, which has since been rejected by the UK parliament, was “the best possible”. He said Britain’s recent political instability was yet another proof of why the backstop was needed.

EU won’t re-open Brexit deal, hopes May will have new proposals: EU’s Tusk (Reuters)

Tusk says ‘special place in hell’ for Brexiteers who didn’t have plan (RTÉ)

Pic: Reuters

Meanwhile…

Double buckle?

Fancy.

Meanwhile

Yikes.

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60 thoughts on “A Special Place In Hell

  1. bernard

    What is it with the hands
    Just looking at murphy trying to answer questions regarding boy Harris in the dail
    Same thing hands all over the place
    Varadkar and the rest of the bright young things are totally drowning in incompetence
    Meanwhile by the time they are finished we will not have a doctor or nurse left
    And state of the art facilities in health need state of the art medical professionals

    1. Eoin

      Double monk burgundy shoes with a charcoal suit? Fair play to Leo, he brings a welcome dash of style to proceedings.Won’t do him or Ireland any harm.

      1. Spaghetti Hoop

        I learned a harsh lesson this week; never buy shoes online. Hope his feet are cut to bits like mine are.

      2. small ads

        Oh, puh, Murtles, the strappy shoes might just as well be these https://www.veryvoga.co.uk/Monk-Straps-Dress-Shoes-Real-Leather-Men-S-Men-S-Oxfords-259171632-g238113

        I like the shoes (though I hope he got the cheap version and didn’t do anything so vomitworthy as paying a grand for a pair of shoes when people are sleeping on the streets and hospitals have to keep desperately ill patients on trolleys and on long waiting lists).

        Whatever about sartorio, I think Varadkar’s doing pretty well in a horrific situation.

        Britain – no, England – is about to plunge Europe and possibly the world into recession out of sheer dimwittedness. Well, maybe not the whole world; maybe their actions will mean that China and Russia surge ahead and become an empire, and we have Orwell’s world of Eurasia vs Oceania. One way or another, the English are certainly going to do harm to their neighbours. They’ve gone, in their own rather fetching term, off their trolley.

    1. bernard

      Exactly it shows Leo knows his place
      Also shows what the EU dictates Leo will implement no matter how bad it will be for our people

  2. Termagant

    This non-budging stance the EU is taking is going to fupp everyone over. It serves nobody but the bureaucrats directly employed by the Union. A crash-out is going to be extremely damaging for everyone, they should be hustling and making whatever concessions necessary to pull a deal out of Britain. You can stand there and ask questions like “Why should Britain get the benefits of the single market without paying into the Union” but that doesn’t matter at all – the simple fact of the matter is that we’re better off trading with the UK than not, and our representatives, if you can call them that, should be doing whatever’s necessary to make it happen, even if their egos suffer as a result.

    1. pedeyw

      No. This is 100% the UK governments fault. The problem is a small no. of Tory mps hell bent on a hard brexit. They don’t want a single market. I suspect no amount of compromise will be enough for them, they’re blinded by jingoism and the faded glories of an empire that no longer exists.

      1. Termagant

        It doesn’t MATTER whose fault it is. If the UK crashes out it sucks for them but it ALSO sucks for us. The fact that the EU suits would like to see them nailed to the wall for not wanting to be part of the club any more should have no bearing whatsoever on negotiations, the simple fact of the matter is if the UK suffers we all suffer.

        1. Nigel

          Oh I think it’s going to be pretty important to remember in the future exactly whose fault this is. There will be much rewriting of history, you can be sure of that.

          1. Nigel

            Yeah, I expect the people responsible will be saying stuff like that a lot in the years to come when reminded about what they did and nobody buys their lies when they try to shift the blame.

        2. pedeyw

          It does. This is not about punishing them. They decided to leave without considering how they wanted to leave. The rest of us in the EU can’t be held to ransom by a small group of backward thinking tories. They literally don’t know what kind of Brexit they’re after is the problem.

      2. Papi

        Imagine your brother went to prison for something awful. Really awful. You’ve done nothing, and you’re not in jail, but your whole life is going to be influenced in a negative way by it.
        This is Brexit for Ireland.

        1. Nigel

          Still not going to forget it’s his responsibility, not the victims of his crime or the police for arresting him or the judge for sentencing, and certainly not mine. Unless he’s some sort of humanitarian hero prisoner of conscience-type thing, which doesn-t really suit this analogy.

          1. Papi

            I’m more saying we will suffer for the sins/foolishness of another, but I see your point and in a perfect world we would walk away unscathed, but hey.

          2. Nigel

            No, it’s not that, that’s never going to happen, I just don’t see why anyone should get away with shifting the blame.

      3. f_lawless

        I think it’s quite plausible Brexit would have happened right-wing xenophobic campaigns or not.
        It was a perfect storm of offering the public a referendum at a time when so many areas in the UK are experiencing social decline and feeling left behind – the effects of years of Thatcherism compounded by EU neoliberal policies and austerity. Suddenly, a referendum and a chance to make their voice heard directly.
        Unfortunately, the weakness of the British Left meant that it failed to make the case for alternatives to EU neoliberaiism. This allowed the far right demagogues to mold much of that public mood for protest into a xenophobic, anti-immigration form.

    2. Col

      But the EU did compromise. The result of that compromise was the Backstop agreement which would have given the UK the benefits of the single market.
      It is the UK who are now going back on that.

  3. Eoin

    Awww, was Murdoch’s Times not successful in driving a wedge between Ireland and the rest of the EU? So, what was that story on the front page of the Times today, based on a single unnamed source about Germany favoring a tech solution to the border? No wonder the Times Ireland’s Niamh Lyons wouldn’t put her name on it.

    1. Mel

      German manufacturing down 7%. Do you think they want to lose one of their biggest markets to keep Ireland happy? Get real Eoin

      1. paddy apathy

        Manufacturing is down for many reasons other than and as well as Brexit. UK market is small compared to US, China, EU27. The Brits will still buy German cars post March 29.

        1. Andrew

          Brexit hasn’t happened yet and German growth is slowing anyway. They certainly would like to avoid another hit. Britain is significant market for them. There is a global slowdown, they don’t want to compound this with a bad brexit deal

        2. Mickey Twopints

          Well, those who have money to buy cars might. After they’ve cleared the backlog of unsold Nissans, Hondas, and Fords.

      2. Frilly Keane

        Would ya give over there Melly

        That drop has eff all t’ do with their Western European markets

        ‘mericans arent buying Mercs n’ the other German badges like they were
        Like they give ‘ah sh
        rhymes with fight
        About minding the interests of other markets

        Besides
        Recent BMW and Merc models are regularly being recalled

  4. Truthful Ulsterman

    Wow. Think how cool a heterosexual would have to be to pull off those absurd shoes and here’s this right wing conservative blueshirt effortlessly being as stylish as you please.

    Just to be clear I don’t think that Leo is cool but the man has a certain panache and style; I am not saying that this is purely by virtue of his homosexuality but let’s get real.

    The gays have style.

    1. SOQ

      N0O0ooo oo o. Some gays have style. Some look like they were pulled out of a ditch in Cavan, especially Rory O’Neill in civvies. I’ll have that full cream milk please?

  5. Rob_G

    I hope that the very forceful and unambiguous comments by Tusk will put an end to some of the bullpoop spouted on this site about ‘Ireland being used as a pawn by the EU’, etc.

    1. ivan

      I like the alliteration in “fanned the flames of fear” but he loses points for “stiffening the resistance”. It’s ‘resolve’, Sammy.

      It’s good as a first attempt at I Can’t Believe He’s Not Paisley but needs a bit more bible, and ideally a mention of Ulster.

    1. millie st murderlark

      You’re so, so right. Together we can change the face of Brexit, if only we could get our poo together and stop talking about Leo and his foot garments.

  6. Johnny

    The leader of FG in waiting is in DC today,to discuss this resolution before Congress.
    ‘WASHINGTON, DC – In light of this critical time during the Brexit debate, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02) introduced a resolution into the House of Representatives expressing the sense of the House that it opposes any re-establishment of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. His statement is as follows:’
    https://boyle.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-boyle-introduces-house-resolution-opposing-hard-border

    Boyle lacks irony and is a bit too earnest,in that yank annoying way.Little too much Anthony Robbins,Coveney in different league.
    Good luck Simon.

  7. SOQ

    A question:

    Never never never is a bit DUP so given the changing demographics if NI, and that to some being Irish is now not such a bad thing, what would be an acceptable temporary backstop. 5 Years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years?

    If in 20 years the majority in NI voted to stay with the UK, is that such a bad thing? Just throwing it out there. Answers on the back of a 50 of either currency will be accepted.

    1. Mickey Twopints

      It seems to me that this whole fiasco is slowly distilling down to a simple binary choice. A no-deal-off-the-edge-of-a-cliff Sasamach bringing much wailing and gnashing of teeth for years to come, vs. a time-limited fudged backstop negotiated in sweaty tension-filled back rooms and presented for approval with seconds to spare. I’ll go with 10 years.

      I’m submitting my answer to you, written on a 50 spot of my favourite cybercurrency.

      1. SOQ

        But is it really fudged? Definitely kicked down the road but NI is a bit like Brexit itself, the longer it goes on as is, the less chance it has of succeeding.

  8. Truth in the News

    It seems bizarre that Sammy Wilson takes issue with Eurocrat Tusk when the majority
    in the North voted to remain and section of the electorate he represents operated one
    of the most undemocratic institutions both at Regional and County level for over 70
    years with discrimination and gerrymandering
    While the Institutions of EU are indeed undemocratic, they have yet to stoop to level
    Wilson and his cohorts orchestrated for so long and got away with.

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