Houve um tempo em que a capacidade de negociar, comprometer e ver as outras pessoas no ponto de vista era vista como forças. marca fraca, traiçoeira ou carreira. Através da negociação.
Nowadays amidst the polarising shambles that is Brexit, the noise of social media, the hijacking of the Tory party by the hard right and Labour’s misty-eyed love-in with Jeremy Corbyn, anyone who is deemed to be ‘talking to the other side’ is branded weak, treacherous or a careerist.
Indeed, some political leaders have made public pronouncements suggesting that the idea of having a civil conversation with someone with opposing views is beyond their comprehension.
But, surely, in our everyday lives, we achieve many of our objectives through compromise. Through negotiation.
Como alguém que é casado com filhas, tenho que comprometer e negociar diariamente. E na maioria das vezes, sinto que estou do lado errado dessas negociações. Comprometo com os membros da minha equipe. Tenho muitas conversas civis com pessoas que não compartilham minhas opiniões políticas. É assim que faço as coisas. É assim que todos nós fazemos as coisas. Isso inevitavelmente significa permanecer em 'uma união aduaneira' (heresia para os brextreemists) e também para arquear, pois isso significa deixar a UE. Para muitas empresas, "sem acordo" seria calamitado. Por mais que eu adorasse vê -lo, parece haver pouco apetite na Câmara dos Comuns, nem mais importante no país. tão perturbador; tão desagradável. Infelizmente, não estou prendendo a respiração.
On a serious note, in my day job, I negotiate with local authority officials. I compromise with members of my team. I have many civil conversations with people who don’t share my political views. It’s how I get things done. It’s how we all get things done.
And that is why I am convinced that the great British public would not only accept, but celebrate, negotiation and compromise on the issue that has so divided our nation for too long now – Brexit.
I hope that the talks between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition result in a deal that can garner the support of a majority in parliament. That will inevitably mean staying in ‘a customs union’ (heresy to Brextreemists) and also to arch- Remainers as it does mean leaving the EU.
The alternative will mean that we ‘crash out’ of the arrangement with our nearest and biggest trading bloc, put the union at risk, and suffer, at least in the short to medium term, genuine hardship for many of our citizens. For many businesses, ‘no deal’ would be calamitous.
The other option would be for a further referendum or a ’people’s vote’. As much as I’d love to see it, there appears to be little appetite either in the House of Commons, nor more importantly in the country.
If we can get an acceptable, compromised agreement, then perhaps we can return to a politics that may not be as polarised; as disruptive; as nasty. Sadly, I’m not holding my breath.
