Editorial

The Guardian view on May and Brexit: a prime minister gone rogue

Theresa May has put no deal firmly back on the table in flagrant defiance of parliament and the dictates of responsible government

Wed 20 Mar 2019 18.31 GMTLast modified on Wed 20 Mar 2019 19.10 GMT

Theresa May arriving at parliament on Wednesday. ‘Her political capital is all spent. She has no allies at home or abroad.’ Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

To achieve anything in EU diplomacy it helps to speak European. That does not require a command of continental languages. What matters, when dealing at the highest level in Brussels, is an ability to acknowledge the common political and economic interests that underpin the whole European project.

Theresa Mayhas no fluency in that idiom. She cannot even fake it. Since becoming prime minister, her relations with the EU have been marked by tin-eared diplomacy. She is bad enough at cultivating relationships in Westminster. In Brussels she has none.