Thread by @bopanc

Theresa May, Facing Hard Deadline, Struggles to Navigate Treacherous #Brexit Politics as U.K. ⁦@Conservatives⁩ gather with party torn over what to do about it. Our report via ⁦@WSJ⁩ wsj.com/articles/there…

Six months before #Brexit, nobody knows how it will happen. “We’re in a bit of a dangerous position,” said Nick Timothy, May's former chief of staff. “It feels like absolutely anything is possible, from staying in after all to departure without a deal..." wsj.com/articles/there…

A no-deal #Brexit deal means serious immediate economic disruption with ports clogging with trucks awaiting customs clearance. The UK is unprepared, but #EU countries too are uniformly unready for a no-deal exit, a recent “stress test” of the members found wsj.com/articles/there…

May only set the UK red lines in 2016 to shore up her position in the party, and was then surprised by #EU reactions, officials said. She even asked envoys to tell European officials she hadn’t decided on a hard line, nor to leave the Single Market. @WSJ wsj.com/articles/there…

But while @theresa_may is ridiculed as dithering Maybot at home, she earned the respect of leaders for facing down @realDonaldTrump at #G7 and @NATO summits. May told him both EU & NATO crucial for the interests of the US & Britain. Via @WSJ wsj.com/articles/there…

May told Trump "bluntly and in no uncertain terms that he was wrong about @NATO as well as the #EU,” a former British official said. #Merkel’s opinion of the British premier rose, said German officials. Via @WSJ wsj.com/articles/there…

Mrs. May “doggedly gets on with it,” said @AlanDuncanMP , a senior official in the foreign affairs ministry and a friend of 40 years. “She’s unemotional and just proceeds.” wsj.com/articles/there…

May's seen as a dithering and robotic leader but lack of emotion seems to be a strength in some circumstances: she was the only leader to stand up to Trump at international summits, and, paradoxically, defend the #EU. @WSJ wsj.com/articles/there…