Dual-national German minister laments Brexit 'chaos'

The binary choice of a "Yes" or "No" to Brexit has led to chaos that would be best resolved by a second referendum, according to German Justice Minister Katarina Barley.

Barley, whose British-born father moved to Germany to study and later worked as a journalist for DW, said another vote appeared to be one way out of an increasingly difficult situation.

"I've been feeling a lot of pain from the very beginning, and, of course, something in me still wishes that we could avoid a Brexit completely, but I've said from the very beginning that I think the people should be asked about the plan," Barley told DW.

"In the beginning, it was just the question 'yes' or no,' and now we have an agreement on the table, and they should be asked on this specific agreement," Barley said. "I still think that is true. I still think a second vote would be good. And then, well, the British people decide."

When asked what she thought about what was happening in the UK, Barley — who is the Social Democrats' lead candidate for upcoming European elections — said she saw "big chaos."

Read more: German press: 'Endless soap called Brexit'

"I see a parliament and a government who both know what they do not want, but nobody finding a way out of this situation and nobody really finding where we can go together. We have to find a solution."

Fifty-year-old Barley, who studied in Paris to obtain a French law degree, has previously described herself as "European to the tips of my toes."

"I'm probably the most European person you can find," she told DW's Phil Gayle in a February interview. 

"When I meet my family, I'm glad they all voted remain," she said at the time. "Within the family it's fine, but I see that society is very much more divided than it has ever been."

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