What's changed is that the Prime Minister does seem to have reached the point where as the end of Brexit nears, it's increasingly apparent her biggest struggle is at home rather than in Brussels.
"May is in her most perilous position to date domestically," said Eurasia Group Managing Director Mujtaba Rahman. There is "intense speculation that eurosceptic MPs will soon force a vote of confidence in her as Tory leader."
The infighting in the British Government escalated at a critical time in the Brexit process, with time running out and talks still stuck on the thorny question of how to avoid customs border checks at the land frontier between Ireland and the UK.
A summit of EU leaders broke up last week with no agreement and plans for a special gathering to sign off on the terms of the divorce next month have been shelved. On the EU's part, preparations are being stepped up to cushion the impact of a chaotic split in case negotiations fall apart, according to people familiar with the issue.
The weekly Cabinet meeting in May's Downing Street offices was described as punchy, impassioned and containing fireworks by several people familiar with the discussions.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is said to have led the assault on May's plan, with support from Home Secretary Sajid Javid, and fellow Cabinet ministers Penny Mordaunt, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom, Geoffrey Cox and Liz Truss.
The group demanded a fixed end-date to the so-called backstop guarantee to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, or at least some kind of mechanism for the UK unilaterally to escape the arrangement if necessary.
For these ministers, the idea that Britain should be tied into the EU customs regime potentially forever is a betrayal of the vote to leave the bloc and would be a loss of national autonomy. They argued that a backstop without any meaningful limits would not pass through Parliament, a view reinforced by May's chief whip, Julian Smith.
But four other Cabinet ministers - including Education Secretary Damian Hinds and May's de facto deputy, David Lidington - hit back on the other side of the argument. They said the EU will never agree to a time limit on the Irish border backstop and the Government should not be imposing unrealistic red lines on the negotiations that will destroy the chances of getting a deal.
According to the Financial Times, some ministers also reacted in disbelief when they were told that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Government plans to charter commercial ships to bring in emergency medicines and food.
The Cabinet argument ran on so long that Gove, the Environment Secretary, missed a speech he had been due to deliver to British and Irish parliamentarians across the road. In his absence, the audience occupied themselves with a polite discussion of moments of unity in the two countries' history.
Tomorrow, May will face another showdown with her party, this time confronting a gathering of the 1922 Committee of rank-and-file Tory members of Parliament, who will challenge her strategy afresh. Many of them were angry last week after she floated the idea of keeping the UK bound to EU trade terms for longer than previously planned.
May survived a revolt when some of her strongest Brexit critics backed down. There are also conflicting reports of whether a plot to oust her will have enough support to succeed. But European leaders watching developments in London are concerned May won't be able to get a deal agreed.
EU nations now see the prospects of a special Brexit summit being called next month to seal the divorce terms as highly unlikely. The bloc is stepping up preparations for a potential cliff-edge withdrawal, people familiar with the discussions said.
- Bloomberg
