Disagree. It's folly to think that no deal could be treated like a monumental game of chicken. The EU knew full well it would take a special kind of nutter in charge to run with that line.... then Boris rolled in
Side effect stopping Brexit? Yeah maybe there was some of that in back of mind, but **** me you can't knock em for stopping a power crazed ****ing lunatic from hitting the nuclear meltdown button. Even if he was just spinning the yarn, it in many ways just proves the point of what a crazy ass idea using that as a negotiation tactic was in the first place.