Imagine you were Mrs Merkel. You are trying desperately to hold together a coalition of political parties in your own country while providing leadership to an equally wobbly coalition of European neighbours.
To your east you have a powerful country run by a kleptocratic elite which has interfered in the politics of some of the biggest global nations, which has invaded a neighbour and which has been running war games on your borders.
To your south you have a continent largely in the hands of corrupt and incompetent politicians or mired in war, leading tens of thousands of people to migrate towards your more stable lands. However your own people don't want them to come in.
Meanwhile some members of the European coalition have serious structural economic problems and nationalist parties are becoming popular.
A contributing member nation of the coalition has decided to jump ship, taking its contributions with it, after repeated concessions made to it (for example a rebate on its contributions and the option of not joining an 'ever closer union').
That nation has a government which is split into two factions vying for supremacy and has had to buy in support from a fringe party in order to stay in power. Populism, nationalism and even anti-democratic threats (such as demonising judges for upholding the law) are the common currency of the anti-EU media and politicians. The politician leading that nation's exit negotiation team is a member of that anti-EU group, a group that want to "have their cake and eat it", that talk about going into competition with their former allies. Many of the group are even Cabinet members - and the prime minister is captive to them.
You need to decide how to manage the exit, causing as little damage as possible. Would you give up all the goodies they demand and hope to sort out the hard things later? Would you even believe the promises of such a government?
If you look at Brexit from the EU's point of view it is no wonder they want to leave the trade deal till everything else is sorted.
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