Merkel Pledges to Work Until ‘Last Day’ to Secure Brexit Deal

(Bloomberg) --

Chancellor Angela Merkel said her government will work until the “last day” to ensure an orderly U.K. departure from the European Union but insisted Germany is ready for a no-deal Brexit.

The German leader opened a 34-minute budget speech in the lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, bemoaning the exit of one of the EU’s “most important member states” in the coming months, with an Oct. 31 deadline looming.

“I’m firmly convinced as before that we have every opportunity to do it in an orderly fashion -- and the German government will work until the last day to ensure that that’s possible,” Merkel told lawmakers on Wednesday. “But I can also say that we’re prepared for a disorderly exit.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in office for less than two months, was cornered this week by Parliament, which rejected the prospect of leaving the EU without a deal, triggering economic upheaval, even after he said he would rather “die in a ditch” than delay Brexit beyond an Oct. 31 deadline.

To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net;Arne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Raymond Colitt, Iain Rogers

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