Britain may have voted to leave the European Union, but its short-term fate still lies predominantly in the hands of foreigners, according to a new Brexit “power list” that attempts to measure who wields the most clout in the tricky negotiations to come.
Theresa May and Germany’s Angela Merkel jointly share top spot in the Brexit50 ranking – drawn up by a panel of independent experts – as befits their respective roles as Britain and Europe’s most powerful politicians.
Yet key UK ministers including Boris Johnson and Liam Fox trail far behind lesser-known officials whose influence over the process is deemed likely to be far more influential.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, and Didier Seeuws, a Belgian diplomat placed in charge of the European council’s “Brexit taskforce”, are the highest ranked non-politicians, in fourth and 11th places, while the UK foreign secretary and international trade secretary languish in 21st and 19th spots respectively. As Brussels bureaucrats are fond of observing, process is power.
David Davis, the UK secretary of state for exiting the EU, lies only eighth, behind the chancellor, Philip Hammond (seventh), and Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon (third), who are seen as important moderating forces on the process.
While the methodology of the 18-strong panel of international experts who drew up the list for the European media network EurActiv will be open to challenge, the process of voting on which figures to include has underlined how much leverage over the terms of Brexit clearly lies across the channel.
Half of those who made the list are from other EU countries while Brits feature 22 times, and Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch and the Bank of England governor – Mark Carney, a Canadian – round out a small group of non-Europeans deemed to have sway.
It is not just European national leaders who wield significant veto power. Guy Verhofstadt, a leader of the European parliament, reaches 10th place in the list due to the parliament’s power to potentially block any deal.
Among the British figures included in the list are Gina Miller, a campaigner to remain whose legal challenge reaches the UK supreme court next week, and Patience Wheatcroft, a former journalist who is leading opposition in the House of Lords.
“This unprecedented political divorce will be hugely important to the futures of both sides of the split,” said the EurActiv editor, Daniela Vincenti. She said the ranking highlighted the “movers and shakers that will play a key role in this process for months and years ahead”.
Brexit50: the top 10
1= Theresa May, UK prime minister.
1= Angela Merkel, German chancellor.
3 Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish first minister.
4 Michel Barnier, chief Brexit negotiator for European commission.
5 Donald Tusk, European council president.
6 François Hollande, French president.
7 Philip Hammond, British chancellor.
8 David Davis, UK Brexit secretary.
9 Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission.
10 Guy Verhofstadt, MEP and lead rapporteur on Brexit for the European parliament.
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion