Britain's Inexcusable Dithering Over Brexit

The Brexit deadline of March 2019 creeps ever closer, and exit talks are under way -- but Britain’s government still doesn’t know what it wants. This failure to set a clear goal, much less devise a strategy for achieving it, isn’t all that surprising, given the political mess caused by Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to call an early election. It’s nonetheless inexcusable.

May’s sense of urgency, if any, did not preclude a summer vacation. It’s to be hoped she returns to London energized by sober reflection and a sense of impending disaster -- because that’s what a so-called cliff-edge Brexit would be for her country, and each passing week makes it more likely.