Trevor K. McNeil and D.S. Mitchell
Mr. Johnson
Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A name resonating as strangely in British ears as President Rupert Murdoch would to Americans. While his may seem a particularly lofty and unexpected feat, it did not come out of nowhere. To really get a handle on what happened and how the former London mayor got where he is now, it is important to keep in mind his earlier career as a journalist.
Laying the Groundwork
Lord Acton once said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. An adage from which came the idea that the people who are best suited to govern are those who do not want to. Something that assisted Johnson no end as he slowly built up a name in the political arena long before entering it. Particularly as the Brussels Correspondent for the Spectator Newspaper where he wrote about the goings-on at the European Union. A platform which he used to gain influence in the growing Euro-skeptic community.
Renounces U.S. Citizenship
Apparently, trying to counteract the Acton effect. Everything Boris Johnson has done since his early 30’s has indirectly assisted, or was intended to serve his ambition to be Prime Minister. From his journalism career and two term stint as Mayor of London, both used to bolster his profile and popularity. In 2016 he dropped his American citizenship. He was born in New York. He has spent a unrewarded amount of time in efforts to keep his middle name, the vaguely French-sounding de Pfeffel, from becoming public knowledge.
A Small But Vocal Minority
The Euro-skeptics are a quadrant of the European Right Wing that would blow up in later years leading to the small but influential UK Independence Party which engineered the Brexit vote. France’s far-right Front Nationanale (National Front) which came in second in the last French national election are a segment of such philosophy. Johnson got in on the ground floor of the movement in the mid-1990’s and worked it so that by the time he first ran for parliament in 2001 he was already a well-known and popular figure in conservative circles.
Economy of Truth
The plan paid off when Johnson won his seat easily becoming a cabinet minister under former Prime Minister, David Cameron. Although a staunch conservative he is known to be a bit liberal in two areas. First, about LGBT rights and then with the truth. He was fired from the prestigious Times of London when he was caught falsifying quotes. But he got around it, such subterfuge being part of his way.
Cultural Insensitivities
Johnson has a lot in common with Donald Trump. City of origin, for example as well as having many children with many wives, a casual relationship with the truth, certain cultural insensitivities and hair styles that would make Lady Gaga ask what were they thinking. Detractors have accused him of intellectual laziness, as Trump’s detractors have accused him. One thing we know so far is that he is walking into a bee swarm with nothing little more than a tough attitude. A further similarity with Trump.
Game of Shadows
If Johnson has a strategy it seems to be an uncanny mix of Machiavelli and magician. He will attract attention and entertain the people, telling the right people the right things, all the while keeping his true agenda hidden. An agenda which includes being Prime Minister, even though Johnson has vehemently denied any such intention for many years.
Losing His Majority
One of Johnson’s his first actions as UK’s new Prime Minister was to take the extraordinary step to suspend Parliament, merely weeks before the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union. Of course he was sued, and the case moved quickly to the UK Supreme Court. It appears Johnson’s strategy may be imploding during month one.
Blood Is Thinning
Johnson’s heavy-handed tactics have caused two cabinet members to quit in response, one being his own brother, Jo Johnson. So much for blood ties. In a single week he collapsed his own working political majority from 1 to minus 43. In a political rage he expelled 21 Conservatives who voted in favor of legislation forbidding a destructive no deal Brexit.
In Effect
In effect, his hard-line tactics have blown up in his face. Johnson is now bound by law to either secure a deal with the EU by October 19th, 2019 or get an extension. This situation has handcuffed him. He swore upon entering office that he would have the UK out of the EU by October 31, 2019, with or without a Brexit deal to govern trade and a myriad of other entanglements between the parties. Despite that, Johnson claims he would rather “be dead in a ditch”.
A Ruthless Mob Boss
Nick Cohen, writing for The Observer, described Johnson’s behavior as that of a “ruthless mob boss”. Johnson had ordered Parliament to take a month-long break trying to sideline Parliament. That action was quickly ruled illegal by the courts. Since the panicked passage of the bill that blocked him from carrying out his agenda, Johnson appears hamstrung. As such, Johnson needs a snap election, by which to galvanize public behind his plans. So far lawmakers have thwarted his agenda. Lawmakers refuse to allow an election before October 31, 2019, because if he won he could tear up the no-deal law they just passed.
What Cards Does He Still Hold?
If Johnson isn’t able to secure a fresh deal with the EU that Parliament will accept, he could trigger a new election by calling a confidence vote on himself. Most are saying that the rabble-rouser will not ask for an extension from the EU. This predicament could end with Johnson resigning rather than going with hat in hand to the EU headquarters in Brussels.
What’s Left
In the circus world of Brexit, almost anything seems possible. Some UK pundits are predicting if Boris Johnson resigns the PM office that Labor Leader Jeremy Corbyn would most likely be appointed as a “caretaker” administration that would ask for the extension. The extension however would signal all out warfare from the Conservative side when elections are called. In Johnson’s efforts to hijack the Parliament he has failed monumentally as of today. No idea what may be next.
