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May Has Bought Some Time. At Great Cost.

The only thing clear about Brexit is that there will be more confusion.

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Credit...Carlo Giambarresi

Knowing she would lose, Theresa May on Monday aborted a vote on her embattled Brexit deal. The humiliation of the moment was underscored by the derisive laughter in Parliament as the prime minister announced the delay, especially when she claimed there was still “broad support for many of the key aspects” of the agreement. But as the March deadline looms for Britain’s exit from the European Union, the question is whether the search for a compromise has been a mission impossible all along.

The delay was another of the many “What next?” moments since the fateful referendum in June 2016 in which the British voted 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent to leave the European Union. But with the bloc showing little interest in reopening negotiations on the 585-page agreement it reached with Mrs. May, the options are few and fraught.

Once again, questions are being asked about what Mrs. May should or should not have done over the two and a half years that she has struggled to bridge the gap between those who demand an exit from the union no matter what the consequences, and those who see that exit as an economic and social disaster. No doubt Mrs. May made mistakes. But as Ellen Barry noted in a report in The Times on the prime minister’s quest for a compromise, “Historians will dispute whether such a thing was ever possible.” And Mrs. May, she writes, was probably the right person to give it a try: an old-fashioned civil servant, without ideology or overweening ambition.

Though the implications and consequences of Brexit have been endlessly and passionately parsed in the referendum campaign and since, the chasm between the Leavers and the Remainers has become only broader, a fact on display as the two camps marched a couple of miles apart in London on Sunday. Their slogans were not about the fine print in the deal, which is most likely the best one possible, but about competing visions of Britain. It was less a political clash than a clash of cultures.

By delaying Tuesday’s vote by Parliament, Mrs. May bought some time. But not much, and at high cost. She evidently hopes she can squeeze some concessions out of a European Union summit meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday that could placate some members of Parliament on the most contentious issue, the open border between Ireland and the British region of Northern Ireland. Both sides are committed to keeping the border open. But since that would mean keeping part of Britain in the union’s single market, the British and union negotiators agreed that as a “backstop,” Britain would remain bound by some rules of the European Union if another solution was not found by the end of a transition period in December 2020. To some supporters of Brexit this is anathema. But as an exasperated member of the European Union Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, tweeted, “Just keep in mind that we will never let the Irish down. This delay will further aggravate the uncertainty for people & businesses.”

Reopening the talks could also open the door to more European Union demands, like France’s desire for future access to British fishing waters or Spain’s claims over Gibraltar. And political sharks at home, from Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn to the hard-core Conservative Brexiteers ranged behind Boris Johnson, have been quick to sense Mrs. May’s weakness.

And so at the 11th hour, it remains unclear what’s next, a fact that sent the pound tumbling again. A Conservative leadership struggle, or new elections, or even a new referendum are all considered. Yet however it plays out, the British government, whether under Mrs. May, Mr. Corbyn, Mr. Johnson or anyone else, will still be faced with finding a way either to put in place a messy divorce that would infuriate a major portion of the nation, or abandoning the process, staying in the European Union and infuriating a different portion of the population. The only other option, an exit with no deal, would be a disaster.

On one question, at least, the European Court of Justice provided clarity on Monday when it ruled that Britain could, if it chose, rip up its notification to the European Union that it wanted to leave, and simply stay.

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A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 26 of the New York edition with the headline: What’s Next, Mrs. May?. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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