Bo*****S. Of course they want a deal. And it begs the question why the UK wouldn't want one either. Why should either party welcome the risk of a renewed territorial dispute on the island of Ireland?
Quite fittingly, those Leavers who've been most dismissive of that risk have (like James Dyson) transferred all their wealth to places like Monaco and Singapore as of recently. They won't be the ones that'll have to deal with the mess. Now, you might very well contend that that risk shouldn't stop even a hard Brexit from happening; that there should be no giving in to threats made by extremists in Northern Ireland. I could agree.
But to deny that risk is simply idiotic. It really blows my mind how many Brits have managed to convince themselves that the EU exaggerates the Irish issue and shouldn't be opposed to the prospect of inheriting a veritable clusterfuck of a territorial dispute. If a border appears on that island once more, the Catholics will remember the Good Friday Agreement grants them a referendum on joining Ireland in that case.
And given the contempt London's been showing for the GFA as of late and given the nationalistic mood in the country, that referendum is unlikely. Which, in turn, makes a resurgence of the violence in Northern Ireland very likely.
For once, I'm actually more inclined to believe the opposition's and the sacked ministers' take on that ominous phone call than Boris's claim that Angela Merkel has laid down the law.
She's always been irritangly optimistic and reluctant to make decisions, so a conversation such as the one that's allegedly happened would be very out of character for her. Besides, it's a matter of diplomatic protocol not to leak confidential phone calls between heads of government to the press. It was obviously leaked for a reason, and that reason is obviously to pass the buck to the EU.