Few would have called George Osborne soft when as Chancellor of the Exchequer he imposed the biggest fiscal squeeze on the U.K. economy since World War II. Now a victim of the Brexit vote and out of office, Osborne is pushing for a more moderate form of Brexit than that pursued by some in Prime Minister Theresa May’s government. In his first television interview since being fired by May, Osborne yesterday told Bloomberg’s Jonathan Ferro that the U.K. economy would suffer if there was a “hard” break with the EU. He advised May to seek “the closest possible economic and financial relationship” with the bloc and to wait until after next year’s German and French elections to begin talks. Those are fighting words to the pro-Brexit camp. Raoul Ruparel of Open Europe defines “Very Hard Brexit” as dumping the EU and accepting World Trade Organization rules. “Hard Brexit” is agreeing a minimal trade pact with the EU, while a soft version would see the U.K. join the European Economic Area and so largely stay inside the single market without a say over its rules. Osborne’s case is undermined a little by the fact he predicted a “DIY recession” before the vote only to see the economy weather the storm, for now at least. An index of consumer sentiment released today by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research rose for a second month in September. The World Economic Forum also listed the U.K. as the seventh most competitive economy, up from 10th last year, although the data was collated before June. Still, Osborne seeks risks aplenty if the negotiations go wrong.  “It’s going to be the decisions that we take now which are also going to have a big impact on our long-term economic prospects,” he said. Hard Talk From the harder side of the debate, former Cabinet member Iain Duncan Smith yesterday criticized Osborne for posturing as “the representative of the liberal mainstream majority” when most people voted for greater control of immigration, tax revenues and laws. Also yesterday, Trade Secretary Liam Fox expressed confidence that the U.K. would thrive outside the EU and cheered pro-Brexit economists by saying the U.K. would “continue to uphold” its commitments to the World Trade Organization. That was interpreted as a sign that Fox was willing to consider severing ties with the EU and its customs union to focus on trade deals elsewhere, while accepting WTO rules and tariffs in the meantime. Patrick Minford, co-chairman of Economists for Brexit, said trading within WTO rules “is economically the preferred option for long-term prosperity.” Others are less sure, arguing life outside the customs union would mean stricter border controls and regulations. European Pressure Pressure is also being applied from the continent. European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici yesterday became the first official to suggest a specific timeframe to start talks as he said “it might be too long” for May to wait beyond the first quarter of 2017. “Let’s not take too much time because uncertainty is the worst enemy of the economy and if at one moment there is reluctance, there is no certainty, there is no predictability; then investors could start being very anxious,” he said. We may get more on that theme today as French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and  European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker meet 20 chief executives of European companies in Berlin. While the U.K. decides when to start talks, the EU is preparing its team. For a detailed Who’s Who of the veteran negotiators who will be defending the EU’s position, take a look at this piece by  Bloomberg’s Jonathan Stearns and Ian Wishart. On the Markets Sweden’s property market is witnessing a Brexit-effect, according to Mikael Söderlundh, a Stockholm-based partner and head of research at Pangea Property Partners. The likelihood that the U.K.’s split with the EU will force central banks to keep interest rates lower for longer is supporting the leveraged property market and boosting real estate returns compared with gains on fixed-income investments, he said. As for how Brexit has affected markets, check out these 17 charts from Bloomberg’s Sid Verma and Scott Hamilton. And Finally… Be sure to tune into Bloomberg Markets Most Influential summits today at locations around the world. Panel subjects include Brexit, the low interest rate world and the challenges facing banks. Speaking ahead of the Hong Kong conference, Jay Wintrob, chief executive officer of Oaktree Capital Group, said the world is at a point of almost “maximum uncertainty” after the Brexit vote.