Brexit: German political, industry chiefs beg Britain to stay in EU

Leader German politicians and industry chiefs issue an eleventh hour plea for Britain to cancel Brexit, saying ‘our door is open’.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, chairwoman of the German Christian Democratic Union party, CDU, attends a joint statement with Manfred Weber, member of the Christian Social Union party, CSU, and top candidate of the European People's Party (EPP) for the European elections, as part of a closed meeting of the party's board in Potsdam, Germany, Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

The frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor has issued an eleventh-hour plea for Britain to change its mind and stay in the European Union.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the new head of Angela Merkel’s party, is the most senior German politician yet to openly appeal to the UK to abandon Brexit. She is among more than two dozen leading figures from German politics, industry and the arts to announce an “unprecedented” cross-party campaign to persuade Britain “from the bottom of our hearts” to remain.

Their affectionate letter to The Times marks a significant shift in Berlin’s tone. It argues that the two countries share an indissoluble bond thanks to Britain’s role in rebuilding Germany after the Second World War. “Without your great nation, this continent would not be what it is today: a community defined by freedom and prosperity,” it says. “Should Britain wish to leave the European Union for good, it will always have friends in Germany and Europe.

“But Britons should equally know that we believe that no choice is irreversible. Our door will always remain open: Europe is home. We would miss the legendary British black humour and going to the pub after work hours to drink an ale. We would miss tea with milk and driving on the left-hand side of the road. And we would miss seeing the panto at Christmas. But more than anything else, we would miss the British people — our friends across the Channel. We would miss Britain as part of the European Union, especially in these troubled times. Therefore Britons should know: from the bottom of our hearts, we want them to stay.”

Katarina Barley, Mrs Merkel’s justice minister, whose father is British, publicly floated a second referendum yesterday as a way to break the deadlock.

The German letter was also signed by Andrea Nahles, leader of the Social Democrats, Mrs Merkel’s coalition partners, and Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, heads of the Green party, which lies second in the polls. Among other signatories are leading business figures, including the chairman of Daimler, the chief executive of Airbus, and Dieter Kempf, president of the Federation of German Industries.

Mrs Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, told The Times: “I very much regret that the House of Commons has rejected the exit agreement with a clear majority. A disorderly Brexit without a deal is the worst of all solutions. London must now put forward constructive proposals as to how to proceed. We will not block the path to Britain remaining in the EU.”

Officially, however, the government in Berlin is more circumspect. Heiko Maas, the foreign minister, said that Mrs May’s defeat had significantly increased the chance of a no-deal Brexit.

Mr Kempf said that no-deal would hit economic growth in Germany and leave businesses “staring into the abyss”. “We are moving dangerously close to a chaotic Brexit,” he added.

The Times