Boris and Ursula go the extra mile

I wonder if Boris and Ursula actually like each other. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Boris Johnson have had yet another chat on the phone about the Brexit trade talks and have decided surprise surprise that it might possibly be worth extending them a little longer and not closing down the whole shop by midnight tonight. Well, that's something. Decisions are easy when they are easy. "Shall we go the extra mile, Ursula?" asks Boris. "Hmmm, oh well ok, Boris, just to show willing," Ursula replies. So a few more days of interminable dualogue between David Frost and Michel Barnier as they go over the same old same old. Fisheries, competition, implementation. I can't believe there is anything new that can be said. But if Boris and Ursula think there's wriggle room somewhere, it will be up to Frost and Barnier to prise it out of the logjam. But if neither can be seen to be "going the extra mile" over the next few days it might as well be wrapped up. We have got used to the endless cliches that have been deployed every day since the trade negotiations began. They include "go the extra mile", "light at the end of the tunnel", "no stone unturned" etc but another one comes to mind."No point in flogging a dead horse". But if Boris and Ursula like and respect each other, I have a tiny tiny piece of optimism in my head that allows me to think/pray that "at the last moment" (another cliche), "on the brink of midnight December 31" (another one), a deal of sorts could be done. I have no idea what it will look like and whether it will be enough to keep, say, 65 per cent of people on both sides of the Channel happy. But, and here comes one of the earliest cliches, "a deal is better than a no deal but a bad deal is worse than a no deal." But all this tough talk about sovereignty, the big word that has stood in the way of a Boris/Ursula love-in, is a pile of hokum really. No country these days can be so sovereignty-obsessed that it refuses to compromise on import-export deals or whatever. That's the way life works. If we want to enjoy the EU single market and all that that implies, then we have to accept that a bit of sovereignty has to be thrown to one side. If we do a deal with the US for example, you can bet your life Washington will have all kinds of quid pro quos. For the good of the long-term success of the country, that's the reality. Just because we're an island we can't be so damn precious. Can we?