EVEN if you don't align yourself politically with Theresa May you have to admire her resilience and her optimism. Written off on numerous occasions, she simply refuses to give up, even though the situation appears hopeless. The fact that she can somehow survive with so little substance to her strategy and so little genuine support from her own benches speaks volumes about the mess Westminster finds itself in.
Ordinarily, those of us on this side of the Irish Sea would be sitting back enjoying the House of Commons car crash but because so much is at stake for Ireland, north and south, the usual schadenfreude doesn't apply. As we hurtle towards March 29 the prospects for a no deal increase on a daily basis but yet nothing either side says in this apparently intractable situation brings comfort.
There was a mild expectation yesterday morning that Mrs May's decision to spend 24 hours in Belfast signalled something new was afoot. A week on from receiving parliament's backing and following discussions with a variety of MPs, it was hoped that she may be ready to present some new ideas to break the deadlock. The DUP appeared a little less strident in tone, while her recent discussions with Jeremy Corbyn hinted at potential common ground.
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But as she addressed business leaders at US-owned Allstate in Belfast city centre, there was an almost audible sigh of disappointment from the audience, which included many of those who'd travelled to Downing Street before Christmas and, much to the chagrin of the DUP, publicly backed the withdrawal agreement. Those hoping for fresh impetus and reassurance that their interests would be represented were left wanting as the Tory leader delivered a mishmash of a speech that sought to persuade everybody but, with the possible exception of the usual pledges to the precious union, pleased nobody.
Questioned by journalists afterwards on the backstop – what else? – she indicated that her approach is more nuanced than those who advocate the complete abandonment of the insurance policy against a hard border. She agreed on the need for a backstop just not as it's constituted in the withdrawal agreement. Hardly a substantive shift but perhaps a straw to clutch at in an otherwise bleak scenario.
After meeting Stormont's parties this morning, the Tory leader will travel to Brussels tomorrow in an effort to renegotiate the deal signed off in November but resoundly rejected by Westminster last month. So far, the EU has been adamant that there can be no reopening of the withdrawal agreement but Downing Street is hopeful remarks earlier this week from German Chancellor Angela Merkel which spoke of "creative solutions" may help resolve the impasse.
Surely this must represent the final roll of the dice for the embattled British prime minister but her past record coupled with the chaos at Westminster suggests more desperate measures may lie ahead.
