German mag hails the influence of the UK as finance minister warns there will be no turning back after Brexit
Der Spiegel runs special edition hailing the cultural impact of "progressive" Brits
A GERMAN magazine begged the UK to stay in the EU as its finance minister warned: “You won’t be able to stay in the single market.”
Magazine Der Spiegel published a gushing bi-lingual issue with a Union Jack and the flag and the headline ‘Please don’t go!’ ahead of this month’s EU referendum.
The influential mag cited Brits’ “nonchalance and progress,” while admitting Europeans loved them for inventing James Bond and the bob haircut sported by Twiggy.
It comes as EU finance chief Wolfgang Schauble warned there would be no turning back for Britain if it voted to leave the EU.
Speaking about the chances of the UK staying part of the single market, he said: “That won't work.
“It would require the country to abide by the rules of a club from which it currently wants to withdraw.
“If the majority in Britain opts for Brexit, that would be a decision against the single market. In is in. Out is out. One has to respect the sovereignty of the British people.”
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Adding that the British may one day regret the decision to leave, he added: “At some point, the British will realise they have taken the wrong decision. And then we will accept them back one day, if that's what they want.”
Weekly mag struck a rather more conciliatory tone than Schauble as it published a gushing tribute to “progressive Britain”.
It wrote: “It's unbelievable that they don't seem to see how much they've shaped the continent, how much we value them here, how close we Germans feel to them.
“Germany has always looked across the Channel with some degree of envy.
“On our emotional map of Europe, the Italians were responsible for love and good food, the French for beauty and elegance and the Brits for nonchalance and progress.
“They have an inner independence that we Germans lack, in addition to myriad anti-authoritarian, defiant tendencies.
“A lot of what happened in Britain spilled over to us sooner or later, reinforcing our cultural ties.”
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