BBC political correspondent Chris Mason stood outside of the mother of parliaments on Nov. 12 and said he didn't have the "foggiest idea" about where Brexit is going. Then he made what have been described as "exasperated noises" — and promptly became an online viral sensation.
But Mason's exhalations were a disgrace for two reasons. There was much to explain about the U.K. government's draft deal on leaving the European Union, and many future possibilities to explore. More importantly, Brexit, for all of the chaotic politics it has provoked, is a genuine political argument conducted within the bounds of a robust democracy. Indeed, it is a sign of a robust democracy. To make exasperated noises about it is to mock the purpose of the famed public-service BBC in national life.
To be sure, the political process is chaotic, and at times alarming. At this stage in the prolonged torture that is Brexit, a plan has been provisionally accepted by the European Union, provisionally agreed by a majority in a split Cabinet and is likely to go to a parliament which, at present, seems disposed to vote it down. The nay-sayers include the Democratic Unionist Party, the largest party in Northern Ireland, which has provided a slim majority to give support to Theresa May's Conservatives, but now seems too outraged by the implications of the deal for the province to continue.
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