bloomberg.com
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-30/serbia-shocked-after-eu-k
eeps-rule-of-law-entry-talks-closed>  


Serbia 'Shocked' After EU Keeps Rule-of-Law Entry Talks Closed


Gordana Filipovic

Boris Johnson's dramatic
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-30/boris-johnson-says-he-won
-t-run-for-u-k-tory-leadership>  withdrawal from the Conservative leadership
race he was favored to win may make it likelier the U.K. will leave the
European Union.

While Johnson led the "Leave" campaign, his relatively late conversion to
the cause sowed doubts among some analysts and politicians about his
commitment to carrying out a process that's bound to be long and painful.

"If there is one British politician who could pull off a U-turn shamelessly,
fudge things and keep the U.K. in, with chutzpah, it was Johnson," Simon
Tilford, deputy-director of the European Center for European Reform, said in
a phone interview.

Speculation had mounted that the next premier will find a way to roll back
the U.K.'s shocking decision to leave the EU after Prime Minister David
Cameron -- and the five declared candidates
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-28/tory-leadership-runners-a
nd-riders>  to succeed him -- said they have no plans to trigger the exit
mechanism right away.

Today's events signal that, for now, the Conservative government is
determined to take the U.K. out of the EU with Home Secretary Theresa May
and Justice Secretary Michael Gove the clear front-runners. While May had
campaigned for Remain, she told supporters and reporters in London today
that "Brexit means Brexit." Gove
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/30/meet-michael-g
ove-the-man-who-just-turned-british-politics-into-an-episode-of-house-of-car
ds/>  has been one of the most ardent supporters of 'Leave' through the
referendum campaign.


'Genuine Outer'


Tilford makes the case that Johnson was "just an opportunist" while Gove is
"a genuine outer." As for May, she was quick to say there must be no
attempts to rejoin the union "through the back door and no second
referendum."

"The campaign was fought, the vote was held, turnout was high, and the
public gave their verdict," she told reporters Thursday.

Some in the pro-EU camp are already calling for another vote. With the
economy set to take a blow, signs of buyer's remorse among 'Leave' voters
may add pressure on the next prime minister to reconsider the implementation
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-28/can-the-u-k-stay-in-the-s
ingle-market-more-questions-answered>  of a referendum result that's not
legally binding.


Pound Pummeled


In the meantime, policy makers are swooping into action to cushion the
economy. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney this week signaled
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-30/carney-says-boe-may-have-
to-loosen-policy-after-brexit-vote>  rates could come down within months.
The pound
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-29/post-brexit-rebound-endur
es-as-pound-extends-rally-oil-retreats> , which fluctuated with the ebb and
flow of the day's political events, slid 1.4 percent on Thursday and has
plunged 11 percent since the referendum result.

With both leading candidates more hawkish on immigration -- it will be
harder for the next government to reach a Norway-style deal that preserves
access to the single market but also keeps free labor movement in place,
London-based Eurasia analysts Mujtaba Rahman and Charles Lichfield wrote in
a client note. Johnson was a different story.

"Despite taking a very tough stance on immigration during the referendum
campaign, Johnson has always been pro-immigration," they wrote.

To prevail, Gove and May must first appeal to their fellow Tory lawmakers,
who'll vote next week. The two candidates with the most support in
parliament will then face off in a ballot of the party's 150,000 members
nationwide, due to finish by early September.


White, Retired


They will be tailoring their pitches to party members that are
disproportionately white, retired and from the managerial classes -- most of
them backers of Brexit, according to a survey by the leading Tory website
ConservativeHome. <http://www.conservativehome.com/tag/next-tory-leader> 

If the race had gone Johnson's way, the "natural instinct" of the former
London mayor would have led him toward a second referendum, according to
Victoria Honeyman, lecturer in British politics at the University of Leeds.

"Johnson might have been able to sell a narrative along the lines of 'We
need to get people to look at the deal, '" she said.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair piped up to make the case that it was not
too late to reverse course.

"Actually the people do have a right to change their mind," he wrote in an
opinion piece for the Telegraph newspaper. "But that is not for now."

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.LEARN MORE
<http://bloom.bg/dg-ws-core-bcom-a1> 

 

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