Brexit Overshadowed by Political Distrust in Johnson

2019/10/12 | Note, political, top news

Strategic Council Online: Less than a month remains to the end of the official deadline for Britain to exit the European Union and a countdown has started for its political leaders to put whatever they have on the table hoping that UK will come out of a historic crisis it has been facing for three years. Under these circumstances, the prime minister's political competence has been questioned, and this has complicated the possibility of implementing the Brexit deal. Hamideh Safamanesh - International Relations Researcher

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is under pressure and criticism these days, used a newspaper interview to liken himself to the Incredible Hulk, poised to break free of the EU’s “manacles”, saying: “The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets.”

“Hulk always escaped, no matter how tightly bound in he seemed to be – and that is the case for this country. We will come out on 31 October and we will get it done.”

Describing his political analogy through this comparison, since his inauguration Johnson has used harsh tone and offensive language as a tool to intimidate EU leaders to accept British terms on Brexit, a matter that has sparked the anger of the authorities in Ireland and the European Union.

Although many British affairs analysts consider Boris Johnson to be the third prime minister victim of Brexit it seems irrespective of this issue, Johnson’s approach to formulating the rules on how the UK withdrew from the European Union and his actions in this regard are not liked by British politicians and criticisms against him are on the rise.

When Johnson shot down the British Parliament in line with a no-deal exit from EU, and after its decision was overturned by the British Supreme Court, criticism against him intensified to the extent that he cut short his trip to New York to deal with his problems at home. On the one hand, he called the historic ruling of the Supreme Court a “constitutional coup” and on the other hand, critics demanded his resignation and told him to apologize for having lied to the Queen. Moreover, the British Supreme Court was assigned to rule on Johnson’s motive and whether he generally has the right to pass political judgment or not.

Boris Johnson who is facing the worst crisis of his government over Brexit, likened himself to the comic book character The Incredible Hulk in a newspaper interview while stressing his determination to take Britain out of the European Union.

Johnson drew parallels between Britain’s situation in Brexit talks and the frustrations felt by fictional scientist Bruce Banner, who when enraged turned into the super-strong Incredible Hulk, frequently leaving behind a trail of destruction.

“Banner might be bound in manacles, but when provoked he would explode out of them,” he said.

The actor who plays the anger-prone Hulk in the “Avengers” movie franchise, has struck out at UK Prime Minister  for suggesting Britain could break free of the EU’s “manacles,” like the Marvel superhero. Ruffalo took to Twitter to remind the Prime Minister about aspects of Hulk’s character he had overlooked.

“Boris Johnson forgets that the Hulk only fights for the good of the whole. Mad and strong can also be dense and destructive. The Hulk works best when he is in unison with a team, and is a disaster when he is alone. Plus…he’s always got Dr. Banner with science and reason.”

In fact, these criticisms confirm that Johnson has only one goal and that is to exit the EU at any cost and in any form, without contemplating its consequences and striving to reduce its negative implications for the UK economy and politics.

That is why British politicians are skeptical of Johnson’s political intentions. Ex-Prime Minister David Cameron writes that Johnson’s claims of concerns about British sovereignty were “secondary to another concern for Boris: what was the best outcome for him?” He said Johnson wanted to become the darling of the (Conservative) Party and get promoted. He added that during the Brexit campaign, Johnson and several other members of his government had presented an upside down version of the facts.

 

Johnson is a liar who only backed the Leave campaign to help his career,  Cameron writes in his memoirs.Cameron, who held the referendum on UK exit from EU, said the shame of Brexit would stay with him for the rest of his life.

Johnson, who is stubbornly pushing for Britain’s exit from the European Union in any way, with the suspension of the British Parliament, has shown that he is even ready to question the foundations of democracy. In fact, he tried to silence the voices of dissenters who disagreed with his plans to pull Britain out of the EU.

Johnson’s government is unworthy of trust because it conspired to ensure that “the mother of parliaments” was closed down by “the father of lies”, the Supreme Court was told in an impassioned speech by a Scottish advocate.

The British Prime Minister, however, insists that the Supreme Court’s ruling against him will not stop him from shutting down the parliament again. Johnson did not rule out the possibility of parliamentary suspension again even if the Supreme Court ruled that he had abused his power.

Johnson who seems not to have a clear political track record before has now become part of the problem amidst the difficult campaign of British withdrawal from the European Union. Meantime, the Conservative Speaker of the British House of Commons John Bercow warned Johnson he will be no better than a bank robber if he refused to obey the law to prevent a crash-out Brexit, in a fresh attack on his conduct.

Delivering a lecture, the outgoing Commons speaker lashed out at the prime minister’s threat to ignore parliament’s instruction warning it would undermine the entire rule of law. However, Johnson has said that he will find a way to circumvent the law, according to The Mail on Sunday.

 

Johnson’s actions have not only enraged many British political officials, but international analysts have also not responded positively. The Guardian quoted Richard Wolffe, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, as saying about the crises facing Boris Johnson and Donald Trump, US and British leaders and their performance: They rose together and now they are falling together.

He said: “Both claim to be the world’s greatest negotiators but have truly whiffed at anything close to deal-making. Trump famously bragged that “trade wars are good, and easy to win” but 18 months after that epic tweet, American manufacturing is in sharp decline and American farmers are miserable.

Real conmen know they can’t stick around for too long after they sucker their victims because confidence isn’t permanent. Real fascists know they can’t tolerate democracy for too long after they seize power for the same reason.

For Boris and Donald, it’s the easy things – like showing up for work – that are hard. The hard things just never happen.”

According to EU laws, if the UK does not reach an agreement on leaving the EU by October 31, it means an automatic exit from EU. Unless a request for extension of the legal deadline is made and the request is endorsed. From the point of view of international observers, Johnson, in the present situation, wants the deadline to arrive so that the UK would be declared out of EU.

Michel Barnier has told MEPs there remain insufficient grounds for reopening formal negotiations over the Irish backstop, six months after Theresa May and the European commission closed them.

In a private briefing with the European parliament’s leaders, the EU’s chief negotiator said Boris Johnson’s officials, led by his envoy, David Frost, were yet to offer any credible plan on which the two sides could build.

“We will see in the coming weeks if the British are able to make concrete proposals in writing that are legally operational,” Barnier told the MEPs. “While we have previously reached an agreement, as far as we can speak [today], we have no reason to be optimistic … I cannot tell you objectively whether contacts with the government of Mr. Johnson will be able to reach an agreement by mid-October.”

On the other hand, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in talks with Johnson last week: The European Commission also said Britain had yet to offer any “legally operational” solutions to the problem of keeping goods and people flowing freely across the Irish border, the main roadblock to a deal.

“Such proposals have not yet been made,” the Commission said in a statement, adding that officials “will remain available to work 24/7.”

In contrast, Johnson said after the meeting: “Yes there is a good chance of a deal. Yes, I can see the shape of it,”

Work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd, quit the cabinet and resigned the Conservative whip, saying she could not stand by while “loyal, moderate MPs” were purged from the party.

In a devastating resignation letter, she accused the prime minister of “an assault on decency and democracy” and “an act of political vandalism” for sacking 21 of her Tory colleagues for backing a parliamentary bill to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Rudd told Johnson she had joined his cabinet “in good faith accepting that no deal had to be on the table”. She added: “However, I no longer believe leaving with a deal is the government’s main objective.”

As the controversy escalated, Johnson called on parliament to either impeach or dismiss him or allow him to proceed with Brexit. He said he was ready to die instead of asking his European counterparts to postpone Brexit for a third time.

The impact of these struggles is reflected in Britain’s economic growth, which is barely below zero percent, according to the Census Bureau.

The impact of these struggles is reflected in Britain’s economic growth, which is barely below zero percent, according to the Census Bureau.

“Storm clouds look to be gathering over the U.K. economy as consumers and business remain hamstrung by Brexit uncertainty,” said Ben Brettell, senior economist at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.

Boris Johnson joked that if some members of parliament had their way Brexit would be an endless process like the torment of the Greek mythological figure Prometheus.

Addressing the annual gathering of world leaders for the United Nations General Assembly, the Prime Minister spoke little about the UK attempts to leave the EU.

But in his one mention of the divisive issue, Johnson referred to how the Titan’s liver was pecked out by an eagle.

“And this went on forever.  A bit like the experience of Brexit in the UK, if some of our Parliamentarians had their way,” he said, drawing laughs from the remaining delegates in the largely deserted hall.

Johnson mostly used his inaugural address to the United Nations to discuss the challenges and potential of new technology, at the end of a tumultuous day for both him and his host, Donald Trump.

“As new technologies seem to race towards us from the far horizon we strain our eyes as they come, to make out whether they are for good or bad, friends or foes.

“AI, what will it mean?” he asked of artificial intelligence.

It seems that the decision on how the UK would withdraw from the EU as having a significant impact on the economy and politics of the UK, Europe and the world has been delegated to someone who essentially cannot be trusted politically and morally by the pillars of British power.

Cameron had said about Brexit: “I am aware that it’s painful for the country and it’s painful to watch.” But for them, how well Johnson was sabotaging the political process like the Hulk did doesn’t look to be sn easy job. Today the future political and economic status of Britain is tied to a prime minister who has been less able to win the consensus of the seasoned politicians in the country.

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