Brexit unmasks UK PM Boris Johnson’s ruthless streak as he tries to trigger election
- UK leader tries to force an election and regain the parliamentary majority needed to leave the EU by October 31, with or without a deal
Boris Johnson has forged an image of himself as a wisecracking mophead, but after a few weeks as Britain’s Brexit Prime Minister the winning smile gave way this week to a scowl and a wagging finger as his ruthless streak emerged.
Living up to his reputation as a high-stakes political gambler, Johnson, 55, is betting the house on forcing an election and regaining the parliamentary majority needed to carry out his plans to leave the European Union.
His main international supporter, US President Donald Trump, said Wednesday: “Boris knows how to win. Don’t worry about him. He’s going to be OK.”
Sarah Wollaston, an MP with the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrat party, is among those who have accused Johnson of “behaving like a tin pot dictator”.
The journalist and MP came to power selling himself as the optimistic leader to end the Brexit crisis.
But within six weeks he has seen his Conservative Party’s thin parliamentary majority disappear as MPs seized control of the parliamentary discussions on leaving the European Union.
Failure in the coming weeks could see him consigned to history as Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister.
Johnson sacked 21 Tory MPs from the party for voting against the government in a parliamentary vote on Brexit on Tuesday.
That showed his ruthless streak and triggered a backlash from some Tories and accusations of dictatorial behaviour.
“It’s like something out of North Korea,” one aide was quoted as saying by POLITICO.
But Johnson’s determination to break Britain’s Brexit deadlock - which ensnared and eventually brought down his predecessor, Theresa May - has thrown his plans in tatters.
The latest setback came Wednesday evening after Johnson called for a national election on October 15, saying it was the only way out of Britain’s Brexit impasse after lawmakers moved to block his plan to leave the European Union next month without a divorce deal.
But parliament turned down his motion and the prime minister indicated he would try again, saying an election was the only way forward for the country and urging opposition lawmakers to “reflect overnight and in the course of the next few days”.
Johnson insists Britain must leave the bloc on the scheduled date of October 31, with or without a divorce deal, but many lawmakers - including several from Johnson’s Conservative Party - are determined to thwart him.
“It is completely impossible for government to function if the House of Commons refuses to pass anything that the government proposes,” the prime minister told a noisy parliament.
“In my view and the view of the government, there must now be an election on Tuesday, 15 October.”
Some of Johnson opponents do not believe his vow to hold the election on that date and warn he may try to delay it until after Brexit on October 31.
This may also not be a good time for an election for Labour, which is languishing in the opinion polls.
Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “The offer of the election today is a bit like the offer of an apple to Snow White by the wicked queen because what he’s offering is not an apple or even an election, but the poison of no deal.”
Johnson is going to push hard to get this election. He is planning to try again on Monday, people familiar with the matter said.
He told a private meeting of Tory MPs that he wants to get on with the election campaign, as it’s the only way to break the deadlock.
Johnson himself was to be on a campaign footing on Thursday as he launches a national effort to recruit 20,000 police officers in Yorkshire in northern England.
And while Johnson is a talented campaigner - as the 2016 surprise Brexit outcome proved - going to the polls in the current, highly volatile climate would be a huge gamble for the Conservatives.
Two years ago, May called a snap election expecting to win a landslide.
Instead, she lost the majority she started with, a failure that resulted in the chaos and confusion that has defined British politics ever since.
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Bloomberg
