THE coup against Brexit is unfolding just as the Remainers planned. Democracy is being subverted before our eyes. This coming Friday should be the moment when Britain begins the journey back to independence after decades of subjugation to Brussels. Instead, our departure has been lost in a fog of prevarication and paralysis.
Because of the repetitive cycle of despair and delay that now enshrouds Brexit, the process is often compared to the Hollywood movie Groundhog Day, where the hero is caught in a time-loop, continually reliving the same experience.
But at least Groundhog Day had an uplifting resolution at its close.
This week pro-EU MPs will seek to exploit the unprecedented political crisis by seizing control of the Parliamentary timetable in order to impose their own Remainer agenda.
Given both the Europhile domination of the political class and the collapse in the Government's authority, it is probable that they will succeed.As a result, the Commons could soon end up voting for a far softer Brexit, such as the so-called Norway option which would maintain the jurisdiction of Brussels, or the repeal of Article 50, the legal instrument by which we end our EU membership, or even a second referendum.
In another indicator of the Cabinet's surrender to the Remain cause, the Chancellor Philip Hammond argued on television yesterday that another vote "is a perfectly coherent proposition" which "deserves to be considered".
The gathering retreat from full Brexit follows the extraordinary events of last week, which began with the Speaker John Bercow refusing to allow another vote on Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement, which had already been rejected twice by MPs.
Bercow's explosive decision forced the Prime Minister to ask Brussels for an extension to Article 50.
Sensing an opportunity to assume command and further humiliate Britain, the EU granted the request.
It is a move that destroys any lingering fantasy among Brexiteers that we can now leave the EU without an agreement.
Having taken charge, Brussels can keep extending the date indefinitely to prevent a no-deal departure.
Meanwhile, outside Parliament, Remainers are cranking up the pressure.
On Saturday, they held a huge march through London to call for a second vote on Brexit, reportedly attended by several hundred thousand people.
And a high-profile petition demanding that Article 50 be revoked had attracted more than five million signatures by yesterday afternoon.
State policy is decided, not by electronic signatures, but by support at the ballot box.
Moreover, the Article 50 petition still has a long way to go before its support matches the total of 17.4 million votes for Brexit in 2016.
Nevertheless, all this Remainer activity is causing the Government to buckle.
As ministerial turmoil deepens, from the Cabinet to the backbenches, many Tories now feel Theresa May's position is untenable.
One Government whip is said to have told her directly that he "wanted her gone" because she had "destroyed theTory party" while a backbencher tweeted: "This can't go on. We need a new PM."
In this frenetic atmosphere, the air is thick with plots to force her out.
Supporters of Michael Gove are manoeuvring for him to take over, despite his record of treachery against colleagues, particularly his fellow Leaver Boris Johnson.
There is also febrile talk of a caretaker administration under the Cabinet member David Lidington.
That really would be a triumph for the Remainer cause, for he is both an ardent pro-European and a classic establishment operator.
"You might as well put the permanent secretaries in charge," said one disillusioned minister.
Yet a change of premier would achieve nothing for Brexit.
It would be another act of self-indulgence by politicians who want to avoid tough decisions by focusing on personalities.
A leadership contest or a caretaker regime will not alter either the intransigence of the EU or the arithmetic of the Remain-inclined Commons.
Due to the ineptitude of the politicians, the tide of Brexit is receding.
The only way to save it is for the Tories and the Democratic Unionists to unite behind Mrs May's Withdrawal Agreement, however flawed they find it.
Now that no-deal is out of the equation, a third meaningful vote on her proposal is perhaps the last chance for Brexit.
All other paths lead to more national humiliation and the final betrayal of the referendum result.
