Ruthless yes, tactician no. Man without a clue - definitely.
1
So many people here blaming the Brits.
Since when was the EU democratic? A bunch of unelected, self-perpetuating, bossy bureaucrats in Brussels who never have to face an election, with a toothless “parliament in name only” sitting in a different city.
Why do none of you ever fulminate about the Eurocrats?
1
THIS is why we can't have nice things. Testosterone Poisoning, in all its glory, hubris and despair.
Seriously.
150
@There/There
Well, ONE of the reasons anyway! But we might at least make it a controlled substance! Along with estrogen, right?
4
@There/There
Yeah, let's forget about women's contributions. You men are great. Wow.
9
@There/There, Phylliss didn't say "testosterone," but "testosterone poisoning," the kind you get from having to bully other people in a show of faux "manliness". The strutting, chest-puffing Trump (seriously, that tie is obscene and revealing, and not of what he wants) is a case in point. And far from alone.
7
Hopefully he will lose confidence in Parliament when they get back in session soon. If not, it will be interesting to watch the country grapple with a no-deal Brexit. I might be up for an affordable London visit.
Johnson has not been elected, commands only a one-seat majority in Parliament, ignores the opposition, and he has no mandate to take Britain out of the EU without an agreement.
Yesterday he decided to send lawmakers away for five weeks, cutting short the parliamentary session ahead of the Brexit deadline on October 31. This move has sparked widespread fury: people took to the streets across the country, and over 1 million have signed a petition to stop suspending the parliament by the end of the day.
Johnson was hoping for a vote of no confidence so he could call an instant election. He could present himself as the martyr, forced out of office by lawmakers hostile to the will of the people.
All is ready to go for his election campaign. His spin-doctor, Dominic Cummings, the mastermind behind the mendacious Brexit campaign, is seen as Trump’s Steve Bannon.
3
What, exactly, has Boris Johnson accomplished with this maneuver? Was there going to be another parliamentary election before October 31? Are the 27 countries of the EU suddenly going to grant the UK trade concessions while they themselves are required to follow whatever strictures Boris wants to impose? Is he going to survive much past any Brexit, let alone a hard Brexit?
The answers are no, no, no and almost certainly not. His action is more that of a desperate fool grasping at straws, panicking under pressure. What he has accomplished is to show that a 93 year-old Queen will follow tradition when he will not. Traditional conservatives will not thank him for that image. British politics have been roiled since David Cameron took the foolish step of allowing a snap opinion poll to rule the country, no hocus-pocus by Boris will change the already pending Brexit, however much it harms the British Constitution.
Now more than ever Macbeth's musings on life appear appropriate--a tale "[T]old by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
2
Thatcher would be proud that England has a leader again.
1
Boris Johnson's "air of charm and disarrayed befuddlement" is simply a tactic to keep people from seeing what he is actually doing or planning to do. Just look at his head. You're meant to think his ruffled hair is a sign of a carefree approach to life. That is absolutely false. The hairstyle is a coverup, much like the one Trump employs, to hide his balding head. Boris has a bald runway-like strip down the middle of his 55-year-old head and he is too 'proud' to admit it. Politicians, 'friends', media pundits nd others have known for several decades you can not trust a thing he says.
2
Ruthless? If by ruthless you mean jamming his own fingers in a drawer and shouting "Take that!" perhaps. Seems more like a buffoon to me.
A no deal Brexit will expose his mendacity and likely end his career when the pigeons come home to roost, but unfortunately he will not be the only one suffering the consequences.
2
Boris and Donald will be remembered forever as the trigger for the decline in Western liberal democracy.
3
Now that Trump's methods have been shown to work, Boris is using them, Is Trump helping Boris ?
PS The Liberals may have pushed too far, on both sides of the Atlantic!
The Pound Sterling is falling by virtue of the machinations of the crafty new Prime Minister in his wily hard Brexit dealings. Meanwhile Donald Trump contemplates sitting with Boris Johnson to work up a trade agreement to bail out each other superficially. However, how can America do business with such a currency manipulator which will flood our shores with their products ?
1
It is astounding that the slim majority that voted for Brexit are so willing to completely discount the desires of remainders. The margin of destructive victory was so slim as to be questionable, especially now that the lies and chicanery of those leading the Brexit campaign have been exposed. Regardless, those determined to leave the E.U. simply will not take anything their fellow citizens say or wish into account. This is illustrative of Boris’ personality and method: intense egocentrism and a disregard for anything that doesn’t further one’s own interests and consolidation of power, with a glib face. Or, put differently, Boris has helped create and is now apparently very happy to govern not the United but the Divided Kingdom. It is hardly auspicious.
1
May I respectfully point out that in the first paragraph alone there are three inaccuracies.
First Johnson did not "hurtle" to the top of British politics. It took him years,eight of them as London Major to create the carefully crafted image that is believed by so many people.
Second he did not change sides when it suited him. Johnson has always been a opponent of the EU. He is famous for his so called 'EU bashing' stories during his five years as a correspondent for the Daily Telegraph in Brussels from 1989 to 1994.
Thirdly he was given permission to put his foot on the table (a low and inexpensive coffee table) by Macron after having remarked to the President, jokingly, that these were just the sort of tables for putting one's feet on.
5
Johnson’s ruthlessness is no shock to anyone who has watched his career. His willingness to say or do whatever it takes to promote himself was always on full display.
The utter disarray of UK politics has also been well on display for the past three years. Now opposition leaders want to “pass a law blocking a no-deal Brexit.”
Pray, what would such a law say?
Absent a withdrawal of Article 50 (unlikely to get a majority) or an agreement to PM May’s negotiated deal (already rejected by parliament several times), there is no other unilateral parliamentary action possible here.
I suppose they could beg the EU for another extension, but the EU has to agree and I see no reason why they would. That being said, the one quality unifying both remainers and Brexiteers has been their delusion that the EU waits on the UK’s whim.
Truly, what an utter mess.
On the bright side, Johnson is amoral and ruthless, unconstrained by May’s fundamental, though incompetent, decency. Perhaps he will pull a rabbit out of his, uh, hat, after all.
2
My deepest condolences to Britain.
It seems you have another Trump in office.
My advice, and this is coming from someone who is struggling to survive under the horror of the Trump administration,get rid of him NOW.
Save your country.
He will destroy your economy and push Britain into a recession the likes of which will cause irreparable damage.
4
It's keeping illegal, disruptive migrants out of Britain which is at the heart of Brexit and the ascendency of Boris Johnson.
I would imagine that if Britain could avail itself of the economic benefits of EU membership, without getting stuck with EU rules as to immigrants and border control, that they'd enthusiastically go along with that.
I don't blame a country for wanting to exercise border and immigration control so as to preserve its national identity and not have to deal with incompatible migrants who would dilute the prevailing culture.
The nation-state Britain is for the British and those certain select foreigners whom they choose, in their sole discretion, to offer residency and eventually citizenship. This is not something that should be forced down their throats by Germany and Merkel as a condition of EU membership.
Germany already messed up Europe twice.
Here we go again.
1
It’s actually legal migrants from the EU that got many brits angry. Brexit will in no way stop illegal immigration, in fact it may make it worse if the French stop holding people back. Which they won’t because they are eager to keep working with the UK even outside of Europe.
1
Johnson is doing to England what Trump has done to the USA. It will take at least a generation to recover!
1
It's obvious that Britons favor Brexit as does Parliament. They cannot agree on the best way to exit. The deadlock cannot be allowed to continue. The Pound is falling. Someone has to take action. In England, as here, votes have consequences and the Prime Minister is deemed " Prime" for a reason.
1
I lived and worked in britain some years back when I realized how politics consumes britain unlike our folks. Brits love to talk politics but it is more to talk about politicians.
And 2 years back - after an absence of 30 years - now retired, spent 6 months in London enjoying a glorious vacation.
I quit watching BBC news.
It was worse than our CNN or CNBC with their talking heads.
On BBC, just a couple of talking heads dominate and all they talk about is what other politicians said about each other or about their coverage on BBC.
I am expecting BBC is now going in an over drive.
So, this phenomenon of Boris now showing a different side, I say - where you been?
Boris knows that Brits, BBC and fellow politicians will be happy to talk about him and not Brexit.
While he runs out the clock and Brexit happens, all of them will still be talking Boris.
And that's exactly what he expects to deliver Brexit.
Es tu, Boris - may be for some.
But to me, to echo POTUS - he is the right man for brits on Brexit.
Actually this maneuver is a sign of weakness and very risky at various levels. The unity of the UK is already under strain as a result of the Brexit saga and this risks wrecking the Conservative party. At the next general election they are probably going to lose all or most of their 12 Scottish seats without which they would not be in office now. This of course is why Davidson has resigned as leader of the Scottish Conservative party. And then in England and Wales there are about 30% of Conservative voters are pro EU and likely to bolt to the Liberal Democrats. Britain is entering a period of severe political instability unseen since the 1920's which is going to exacerbated by the economic instability of what now seems to be the inevitable crash out of the EU.
2
“... the man affectionately known as BoJo...”
Really? The Brits I have heard use the nickname “BoJo” are not using it with affection, but rather contempt.
If Trump and his administration have been described as “malevolence tempered by incompetence,” I would say that Boris Johnson and his crew could be described as “ruthlessness tempered by megalomania” or perhaps vice versa.
12
Johnson's shrewd play was an attack on democracy. Nothing is worth that....
3
Mischievous? A man who through deliberate lies and fake propaganda helps bring Britain on the brink of economic, political and social disaster is (was) just mischievous? This euphemistic writing even fro top media is what propelled dangerous autocrats like Johnson and Trump to a position of power and prestige. Everything that was (and often still is written about them) fails completely to encapsule the danger that such people pose for their countries anf the world at large.
16
Well, Winston Churchill reveals a ruthless side, and he got the job done. So, in my opinion Boris is just what the dithering British Parliament needs at the moment.
5
If you look at the numbers in Europe, and the median salaries per nation you can understand everything.
Outside of London, the British are more miserable and less educated than in Italy or Spain . They are much poorer.
And it is not because of the EU, it is because of the way money is distributed in the Uk and that actually the EU was trying to change.
The downfall will be cruel.
12
Hopefully, the best thing that will emerge from this self-inflicted Brexit disaster for the UK will be the end of right-wing populism. If future conservative politicians in the US or UK want to blow up any more institutions, the Brexit example will clearly show the chaos and disorder that result.
6
Boris is single-handedly going to cost the Monarch everything.
In Australia, this is seen as massive undemocratic overreach of the monarch. And the Queen ('Liz' to Rupert's tabloids) is the Queen and Head of State down here too. She actually dismissed the PM here in the early 70's and replaced him. A duly elected PM.
The Queen will not survive this in Australia.
Calls for her to be replaced by a local head of state are ON.
4
Boris Johnson was also nowhere to be seen after David Cameron's resignation. He was happy to stand on the sidelines while Theresa may was fed to the lions.
4
The Boris personality is similar to the Donald personality.
Both were spoiled children and both grew into a hardened authoritarian.
When Trumps parents sent him to military school it was probably to straighten out his adolescent selfishness but all that happened was a hardening of his resolve to have his way.
Joe Walsh, of all people, is a Republican running against Trump for the nomination based on Trumps unfitness for office.
Whatever we may think of Walsh, he deserves our support for doing what amounts to a patriotic deed.
3
@Michael Kittle
disagree on Walsh; he is a tea partier. Just because he is against trump, does not make him a good guy.
His only asset is that he is anti-trump. Not good enough.
Mr. de Pfeffel mistakes Brexit as a game where he can emerge as a winner.
After lies in the run up to the Brexit referendum and continued lying about it since then he has resorted to unconstitutional and undemocratic maneuvers that carry the risk of destroying the UK with collateral damage to the EU, especially the Irish isles.
Brexit will not go away after crashing out. The remainers will be radicalized, people will bring their anger to the streets. Leavers will feel threatened and might do the same. The peace and unity in Ireland will disintegrate. Scotland wants a revenge referendum.
What the UK needs is a maximal political consensus, such a leaving the EU but remaining as close as possible. Neither side can win, because the other half of the nation can’t accept losing.
This requires hard political work. Alexander Boris de Pfeffel is the worst choice of PM in modern British history. He might very likely be the last PM of a United Kingdom.
7
The UK desperately needed some aggressive decision making and general leadership as the status quo is killing business and national morale by keeping it's people divided with this constant stalemate. It genuinely feels like a conclusion of ANY kind is what's needed now so I welcome this maneuver and you can gauge it's success not only by it's end product (whatever that may be) but by the fact the ONLY people upset by it are remain voters! British people are tired of this debate now and are just looking for a conclusion of ANY kind now. Short term difficulty for a long term gain is much more acceptable now than it was at the start of this political debacle so bring it on and let the country move on...
4
As I have always said, Boris Johnson is a very, very astute political operator, he knows the political system and how it works, and he knows how to use it to his advantage. He knows this better than anyone in British politics at the present time. Unlike a certain USA leader his motivation is not personal greed but what he sees is best for the country. He could earn a lot more money outside of politics but he chooses to remain a politician. Why? Because he is a political animal, it is what drives him and gives him satisfaction.
1
@Allsop, I’m sorry but I think that’s absolutely nonsense. His motivation is “not personal greed but what he sees is best for the country”? I don’t think he could care less “what’s best for the country”—all that matters is brand Boris and amassing power. I worked in City Hall when he was mayor and the man has zero public sector values and no basic human decency.
1
The blanket statements that no deal Brexit will be a disaster seem to be of the same ilk as the claims by the Pro Brexit people prior to the referendum, i.e., totally lacking in detail. I've searched high and low for an actual explanation of why it would be so disastrous and when you read the list it doesn't sound too scary. I won't pretend to understand the deep scars of the Irish wars and how a border would open them up. That seems to be an emotional and psychological worry, not an economic one. The main claim seems to be that having a customs service that inspects goods at ports will slow down trade(and the fear mongers screaming you will be without medicine and food!!!). Pssst! That is what the rest of the world has in place and it's not really an issue that debilitates our economies. It seems doubtful that a no deal Brexit is going to be anything like what the "sky is falling" crowd is claiming.
2
If it's that easy, why are so many nations striving for treaties easing their trade relations?
2
“…many analysts believe Mr. Johnson is inviting an early general election, and the prime minister is bullish about his chances. He has strong poll numbers and the opposition is divided. And the image of lawmakers putting their full weight behind undoing Brexit would provide an ideal backdrop for the ‘people versus Parliament’ campaign that Mr. Johnson seems eager to run.”
Those accusing Johnson of being anti-democratic would do well to bear these comments from the NYT in mind. Right now it is his opponents who, for a variety of reasons, would much rather not face the electorate – hence their preference for legislation to prevent Brexit, rather than a No Confidence motion to bring down the Government and bring about an election. Johnson is basically forcing his opponents to embrace the latter if they want to stop Brexit at the end of October – and being willing to risk an election when his opponents very much wish to avoid it is somehow anti-democratic of him?
3
“It seems certain the UK will break up, as membership in the EU is likely to prove more attractive.”
The primary objective of all three major nationalist movements in the UK – Scottish, Welsh & Irish – is to leave the UK: inside or outside the EU is a secondary consideration.
Those who see the break-up of the UK as a result of Brexit might want to consider then why all three were in favour of Remain.
The idea that Nicola Sturgeon had reconciled herself to Scotland remaining a part of the UK until Brexit made her change her mind is naïve at best: Brexit or No, the Snippies want to leave the UK. In the immediate aftermath of the referendum result, Sturgeon was hopeful that she could use Scotland’s Remain vote to justify a second referendum straight away, only to find that a significant minority of Snippy supporters were against membership of both the EU & the UK (being at least consistent in their opposition to political unions).
In addition, however strongly the lady might want a second referendum on independence, it will only happen if the British Government agrees, and if the opponents of independence agree to contest it – otherwise it will have no legitimacy (or legality). And why should these two separate parties agree? Scots knew that a referendum on the EU would happen when they voted to stay in the UK in 2014, weakening the justification for yet another vote on independence.
The UK may indeed break up, but the effects of Brexit on this are far from clear .
1
@David Buckland
In Wales, the majority voted for leaving the EU.
Sneaky move but not a popular one I suspect. I think the Conservatives should be seriously worried about the next general election. If Labour had someone a little less controversial than Corbyn leading them, they would have their best chance in a long time of taking the helm.
The Brexit was a vote for democracy, the Brexit supporters always say. Europeans on the continent could not understand that because they do not have such a strong parliamentary tradition. But now, the "mother of all parliaments" is just watching as the country approaches the most important event of its recent history. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has decided to suspend the lower house for more than a month, in the crucial weeks before the Brexit date at the end of October. With this announcement, Johnson reveals the principles of the Brexiteers. In Brussels, he is currently fighting to remove the backstop from the exit contract, arguing that this is "undemocratic". But he himself puts the parliamentary sovereignty into question.
2
Johnson's ruthlessness had been in plain sight forever. He did, however give the press what they wanted to echo, through disheveled "charm" but he's been lying and maneuver ruthlessly since he started his career, the press just hadn't been doing its job, which is visible since it now expresses some sort of surprise that he's cut the charm and wears mainly the zealous politician.
3
Could someone please explain why BoJo would need Corbyn’s support to call an election? AFAIK, he needs only to ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament and he can call an election. Certainly he’d need Corbyn to form a government, but not to call an early election.
Remainer Theresa May was installed without so much as a party vote - much less than what Boris got. Same with Remainer Gordon Brown. May dragged her feet against the clear will of the Brexit referendum. Proroguing Parliament is a legitimate act, used countless times.
1
Mr Johnson aint no Mr Churchill, however he may regard himself, the lone charismatic leader able to shoot from the hip to make things happen.
Dangerous lust for power for the sake of power, absent Churchill foresight, brilliance, and rigor.
2
This 'Boris' thing is a deliberate charade that Johnson puts on to escape the consequences of his egregious behaviour such as barefacedly lying and fathering untold children. Some 'conservative' you've got there, Tories. Everything he does is an act. Deep down he must be terribly, terribly insecure.
Right now he may be thinking that bluff and bluster will get him through. This time though the audience is not so friendly and includes some folks who will call him out. Contact with reality will be painful and brutal. Couldn't happen to a more deserving fellow.
2
'Reveals' a ruthless side.
You do know he has always been ruthless.
He was a tabloid journalist who was known to print rubbish constantly.
He has never been a serious person. He is from a wealthy family who will be looking to make a lot of money off of Brexit.
7
I lived in Britain during the referendum to join the Common Market in 1975 and by any measure the promise of Europe has been more than fulfilled. However, there has been a process of integration that many in Britain were never comfortable with and at last the dam burst. There is no good option now and events that were put in motion by the 2016 referendum have to unfold. The die is cast. This is a little like the many American who did not bother to vote and are now writing shrill letters to the Times, no doubt to assuage a guilty conscience.
4
Ruthless or moronic? The world is inhabited by lazy hapless men who seize power with tweets and tantrums and scream bloody murder when it suits their cause. Why does this seem to be working? Perhaps we mistake personal relationships for facebook friends and politicians are able to influence us with their candid attacks on our collective psyche's. Is democracy a failure? Has the lowest common denominator risen to the surface? Or is the ugly truth that we deem a political life beneath us as capitalism has become the ruthless winner in a sad game of winner takes all. The moral ideal of service to the greater common good is out of fashion.....
We have to remember that the Queen approved this.
2
Mischievous? More like a clown turned despot - following in Trump's steps. Is there an online manual somewhere? Oh, that's right — Trump doesn't read.
He is Trump with brains. This is very dangerous.
4
If more people were psychologically minded they would have seen beneath the childish buffoon exterior and recognized that what lies below is an ominous authoritarian dictator.
His child is a spoiled brat and his adult is a tyrant!
4
Boris Johnson knows he belongs to the elite and does not even bother to hide his disdain of the democratic system. By getting one of the safe conservative seats he shoehorned his way into the present parliament. In real numbers this means his "popular platform" is no bigger than roughly 23,000 voters. Make no mistake: not margin, but total number of popular votes cast for his person in the latest (2017) election.
Things are getting eerie also on this side of the Atlantic.
7
A very fair review. The UK needs a tactician who will produce results. Blair drove us into the banking crisis. Cameron lacked courage. Now we have a leader who may lead the UK to success over the next ten years with the right long term strategies. It can be done. May achieved nothing except made us a laughing stock.
1
Good luck. With ‘believers’ like yourself you are going to need it.
3
@Ben Beaumont I was not aware that Blair was responsible for the US sub-prime mortgage debacle that sparked the global financial crisis.
On the positive side, BoJo will turn England into the financial equivalent of Greece. I can pick up a nice place in London that used to cost a fortune for a song, as well as a country place. Up until now I figured that once I returned to the states this option would be out. I will just have to remember to bring my own food and medicine when I visit.
16
@Aaron of London But isn't that part of the issue Pro Brexit citizens have? That they can't afford housing in London while foreigners live in lavish penthouses? It's a huge issue here in the USA and our younger generations are suffering the effects of being shut out of homeownership in the cities that are our main economic engines. So you are saying this is a class issue(duh‽) where basically the middle and working class are going to be empowered to afford real estate currently being monopolized by the global elites who would like nothing better than for all of us to be renters? It sounds like a fine way to have some redistribution of wealth.
A shortage of food and medicine?
What could go wrong?
7
If Boris Johnson is counting on Trump for anything, he's going to find out that his promises are like pie crust, made to be broken.
15
My understanding is Mr. Johnson has to ask the Queen to suspend Parliament. Why not have a full blown constitutional crisis - she should decline. It could be very interesting.
3
@dairyfarmersdaughter Sadly she signed it already.
1
Oh boy, just what we need. Another demagogue who will no doubt inspire our own demagogue to try to take our country's descent one step closer to autocracy.
9
Ruthless or simply ignorant? Boris does seem determined to cut off the UK's nose, no matter what the facts say about the probable consequences. The dire consequences of Brexit--especially hard Brexit--are beyond serious debate. The older folks who wanted a "feel good" exit from the EU will soon see the massive damage done to future generations. Nothing good will come of this for the UK, and the young will suffer the most. Off the cliff you go...
8
He is a cynical opportunist from a class that will not be seriously affected by whatever happens with Brexit. The Brexit leaders tapped into the racist and xenophobic tendencies of a good number of Britons, then spread just enough lies to other Britons to take their plan over the top. It was, and remains, a game for the Johnson's and Rees-Moggs's, because their wealth and position shields them from the consequences of a Brexit nightmare. One can't help but have a little sympathy for the French Revolutionaries whose solution to Johnson's type was the guillotine.
22
My husband and I both knew Boris as undergraduates at Oxford. He was well-known then as being bright but lazy, extremely ruthless, ambitious, focussed on selling himself, and totally unprincipled.
Remember he was fired from the Times for making up quotes and was suspected of the same during his time as Brussels correspondent for the Telegraph. Chris Pattern (former Tory Chairman, last Governor or Hong Kong) described him as "one of the greatest exponents of fake journalism".
You can see where this is going...doubt he has an ethical bone in his body.
190
@NYBrit
He is a Trump clone. There is the Trump cabal with Bolton and Pompeo, the Netanyahu cabal, the Saudis, Bolonaro from Brazil, a collection of heads of states and not a single real statesman. None of them has a social conscience, they are morally and intellectually bankrupt.
25
@ARL
The Zeitgeist has produced a crop of authoritarians. We can only pray the planet survives.
17
@ARL
Can’t be THAT lazy, now can he?
These democratically elected pols can’t be THAT “authoritarian,” now can they?
Some things you’ve simply been attuned to think, without really thinking (now THAT’S lazy).
There are folks out here who sent them into the arena. To force folks like YOU three to start thinking outside your little boxes. Silver lining? It’ll do you good. Those who can daily focus on the horizon grow up to have healthier eyesight than boxed in mid-range city dwellers. You can look it up.
To deal with Trump, Britain needs a ruthless leader
2
@Woof He has shown himself to be Trump's lapdog so far. He desperately needs Trump to come through with some sort of trade deal so he can survive.
10
@Woof, the statement, "To deal with (fill in problem), the nation needs a (fill in blank) leader" has attempted to justify many monsters.
1
Johnson's move was brilliant. The Remain movement totally fouled May's attempt to negotiate a new relationship for two years in hopes that it would stimulate a popular rejection of any form of Leave. That failed. Now that the only alternative to No Deal Brexit is a futile attempt to extend the Article 50 notification, which would fail, we must endure a broken Parliament that will reconvene in September only to fight over a no-confidence vote that won't pass, and a general election that won't take place until after Brexit occurs. And meanwhile, Johnson is negotiating a new relationship with the EU that will determine what happens on November 1.
Somehow, reality moved on in spite of the Remain team's attempt to simply stop it.
45
& reality will be as ugly and mean spirited as Boris the clown. He lied to get Brexit passed and will lie to make it happen no matter the cost. Then after Britain’s economy goes sideways he’ll blame Europe and his opposition at home. Like Trump there is nothing he can’t make worse in his pursuit of personal power & profit. Too many nations of the world are dominated by fools & authoritarian thugs like Boris, Donald & Vlad. Their like a disease
71
@Sequel Johnson's move was brilliant only if your aim is to destroy the United Kingdom. Johnson doesn't care; to him, it's all a game. He started the whole Brexit drift back in the day with lies in his cynical newspaper columns from Brussels about one-size-fits-all condoms; he's going to finish it with an unconstitutional strategy that reveals his cynical attitude to the welfare of his country.
It's revealing that his biggest fan is Trump: both would-be autocrats; both deliberately engineering a global economic slowdown; both doing their best to destroy their countries; and neither likely to suffer as those around them do. How low the western world has fallen in just a couple of years.
88
@Sequel - LOL - Johnson is negotiating, but the EU isn‘t.
25
Deal or no deal, where are the economic models predicting future courses? Just what does Boris Johnson and his ilk honestly think Great Britain will look like after 10/31.
Are Great Britons and the business community with only 60 days essentially left ready for a deal or no deal?
It would seem that the future is one with limited immigration on a isolated group of islands with moderate at best economic power. If Boris thinks Trump will provide the economic fire power he will need, see America.
97
This should surprise no one. Boris Johnson would not have gotten to No. 10 if he were not absolutely and completely “ruthless”. The clownish stunts were a diversionary tactic.
182
U.K., my heart goes out to you. We've been living our own Boris Johnson nightmare for the last two and a half years. Let's hope both countries survive.
Poor Queen Elizabeth, at her age, having to interact with two buffoons.
248
@Marie, yes. She's the sharpest mind in that room for sure. And the kindest heart. Not that it's much to say, alas, for the same is true of most of us, even on our worst day.
27
I think her main concern now is probably Prince Andrew and his connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
22
@Marie. “ Poor Queen Elizabeth” could always grow a spine and refuse to sanction the delay, but she won’t because her sole purpose is the perpetuation of the Royal Family in all their figurehead uselessness. Yes, I know, her approval is a mere formality but make a symbolic stand woman!
23
It seems the British people are very split. Sounds like America. I want the British people to have what they want, but it is a very slim margin favoring Brexit. While many are upset about immigration issues, for one, and being bullied by the EU (including getting out from under them), others like the general security of the bigger organization and the more liberal regulatory state. I'm not sure what would happen if they left without a deal. Frankly, I'd be appalled by an EU that punished Britain for leaving. I'd root for Britain.
1
This article doesn't really get to grips with what's going on in the UK at all. What has been happening with this Government is scandalous. Here's a man who was voted in by less than 150,000 people, who has no mandate to crash out of the EU without a deal, and is forcing a Government shutdown so his unpopular plans aren't scrutinised by the executive branch of Goverment. He is also putting the Queen in a very challenging position as he knows she has to agree to the shutdown in Parliament whether she agrees with it or not. It is almost unprecedented that our Current head of State has been forced into a position where it's looking like she may soon have to walk into the realm of political decision making.
14
@Michaela
I agree. What is going to happen to the Queen over this cannot be understated.
This is clear undemocratic overreach by the Monarch.
The moves for her to be dethroned as head of state in Australia will be in full swing by this afternoon.
1
After all this, will any country wish to join the EU?
It will only embolden some current members to think about their own exit from this farce called the EU.
3
@Bhaskar
To the contrary, the remaining EU members will continue laughing at Britain. You haven't been keeping apprised of the economic hardship Britain is in for after their exit.
I often wonder whether the problems the English brexiteers are attributing to EU membership are actually caused by globalization, and whether EU is the scapegoat much like immigrants are here presently. And whether they will wake up one day to much-worsened circumstances as are many of Trump's supporters, like our farmers. It seems certain the UK will break up, as membership in the EU is likely to prove more attractive.
63
@Catherine Such globalization was aggravated in the manner you suggest by how the City of London affected the UK's status in any European community. British interests were deliberately skewed toward financial interests as American interests completely disclaimed any responsibility for the risk they had assigned the public. The US and UK shared that experience but not the accounting, perhaps, as Johnson is exploiting divisions to secure his endgame. I doubt he had Irish and Scot farmers in mind as he trashes Parliament. The resemblance with Trump must be anarchy, meanwhile, rather than character, now that media manipulation-skills are so much at play. He dupes the Queen as Trump's backers trash the Dossier, apparently.
1
@Catherine
Yes, but will the E.U. let liberated states of the U.K. in? The EU has many members with incipient regions seeking to become independent states, and that might present problems for, let’s say an independent Scotland as one example.
I’m here in London right now - seeing firsthand the huge divide between leavers and remainers. The each talk as if their preference is the only possible, even sane, outcome.
I think leaving would be a total disaster. But I’m just a visitor. And we have our own huge but similar crisis ongoing.
4
@Catherine
They are indeed to do with globalization. The problem is the way in which the EU has turned to embrace globalization without adequately addressing its consequences. Free movement of labour (which has seen much greater numbers coming into the UK from other EU countries than was predicted) is more problematic in practice than theory, as when the existing infrastructure of schools, health and housing have not been bolstered to adapt to greater demand. Brexiteers may or may not see the underlying issues; but they do know that their lives are more disconnected from decision making than before and have used the referendum as an avenue to protest accordingly.
2
"The Man who ended the Union was a bit of a mischievous fellow..."
4
There will be no deal with the EU and Britain will suffer the consequences with inflation of goods, and recession in their economy, brilliant!
7
We have leaders in the US and UK without principles, without shame, and whose only allegiance is to themselves. Both possess little more than the brash ability to manipulate people.
If I weren’t affected by the situation, I would wish on the occupants of both countries all the repercussions due for such profoundly bad choices in leadership.
6
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has always been under-estimated.Thus far, Boris Johnson had given the impression that he was a non-serious politician,who never understood the capacities of power. Johnson held many offices and always attracted affection, admiration and even a feeling that he was an innocent person, who stumbled on various offices.
But now,British suddenly wake up to a man who is ruthless in exercise of power and fully prepared to go to the furthest limits of that power. Queen Elizabeth had agreed to a request by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to suspend Parliament in mid-September to force through a no-deal Brexit.
Now those MPs,who oppose a no-deal Brexit have barely 3 working days of parliament to stop Boris Johnson, move a No-confidence motion against his government and find an alternate Prime Minister candidate.
It now looks highly unlikely that the opponents of Boris Johnson can organise such an alternate government. But a week is a long time in politics and anything can happen. One ahs juist to go across to italy and see that impossible enemies have joined together to form an alternate government to ex-Prime Minister Salvini.
While it is difficult to predict what political opponents of Boris Johnson will do,there is unanimity that Boris Johnson did not stumble on the Prime Ministership. It was hard ruthless calculations that made Boris Johnson the Prime Minister .Now we have to see whether Johnson can outplay his rivals in getting a no-deal Brexit
4
I don’t know if “ruthless” is the right word. “Stumbling lightweight dilettante” is more like it. “Ruthless” implies that Johnson knows his acts are damaging the civic contract behind the constitutional monarchy and risks it for a goal in mind. I don’t think Johnson is that aware of the damage or a goal.
6
The Trumps and BoJos of the world have a gift for finding and ruthlessly attacking weakness but like any bully WILL back down from a real fight. Look at the tub of jelly Trump turned into over the weekend...
Whether we're talking about Remainers in the UK or Democratic leadership in the US, there's an almost pathological unwillingness to play the cards they've got boldly and decisively. A timidity, based in a fear of losing, that is demoralizing for their supporters and emboldens the worst people in the world.
In normal political times, it makes sense to only pick the fights you know you can win. At this particular moment, we need leaders that understand this isn't about winning or losing (Trump and BoJo will claim victory no matter what), it's about standing up and FIGHTING.
5
When all the English who have retired along the Mediterranean have to relocate back to England, property prices along the Mediterranean should drop significantly. Good news for anyone in the US looking to leave behind Trump's dystopian nightmare.
4
Sort of remarkable how the British left wants to undo the results of the Brexit vote, and the American left is still obsessed with undoing the results of the 2016 election. It's tiresome and juvenile, compared to an adult strategy of seeing what went wrong, accepting responsibility for failure, and coming back strong. Sometimes you get beaten in life for just one reason: you lost.
2
Or your opponents cheated. As in this case.
8
All just sound and fury signifying very little.
The UK is at the end of its institutional life cycle.
Think Imperial China 1911. Imperial Germany 1918.
Imperial Japan 1945.
The turmoil will continue until the English are exhausted by it.
After that?
2
Sounds like “Years and Years” to me. The HBO show is frightening with reality.
1
As a confirmed Anglophile, this is TERRIBLE to watch.
The British have always had a reputation for being clear seeing and level headed in recent decades. This is madness... piled on insanity. Brexit failed all along because it was an unworkable idea. Prosperity cannot be found by isolation from Europe.
The worst part: if the people voted now, there is NO WAY Brexit would pass! The final killing blow to British prosperity will come to a people that have been deprived of their voices, even as they are thrown over a cliff!
And the Queen helped to do it. This may crush the Monarchy. She should have insisted that Parliament agree before putting her approval on the suppression of the true voice of the people!
5
I liked it better when representer governments represented goodness, forward-thinking, and civility.
". . . . the ruthless tactician who took office as prime minister this summer. With Brexit hanging in the balance, Mr. Johnson marshaled all the power of Downing Street to cut out the legs of a wobbly opposition, risking a constitutional crisis to get what he has promised.
Suddenly the man affectionately known as “BoJo” was being rebranded by some opponents a “tin-pot dictator.”
Residents of the U.K. - many Americans feel and know your pain. Hang in there. It will only get worse.
5
The good is yet to come.
2
Her Royal Majesty signed off on Johnson’s wishes so that ends that.
1
Just do it Boris, and get out of the suffocatingly toxic, Socially E.U. While the getting is still good! Get your country back and be free again..
2
It's only ruthless if he is doing it at the behest of Putin. Otherwise, it's really stupid, as the whole of Brexit is. It's not a serious idea and it was sold to a large group of sheep using only somewhat devious means. The targets were easy. It's difficult to see how the UK benefits from isolation. So, Johnson is either a traitor or lacking in any sense of reality whatsoever. Neither being good.
2
Trump and Johnson, brothers in arms.
1
Russia won WW3 without a single shot fired. Well played Uncle Vlad, well played.
6
How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
https://on.ft.com/2JevX4o
2
Boris is like Trump with a brain. And that is a very dangerous amalgam.
6
No wonder Boris Johnson has been called the 'Trump of England', disruptively mischievous...and to hell the consequences. Trumpian indeed.
1
It's not until consummation of Brexit and a trade agreement with Trump we will get a glimpse of what the future holds for PM Johnson. It will be some time after those events what he will be remembered for will be revealed. Relying on Donald Trump to be successful in your pursuits may not be the wisest of strategies.
1
Technically the UK is in a state of benign civil war between those of us who voted Brexit and those who wish to remain in the EU. The phrase no Brexit deal is irrelevant as the only deal the EU was and still is prepared to offer was overwhelming rejected by Parliament and that includes most of the remainers. The Liberal Democrats, give them their due, stated quite openly that even if there was a second referendum they would not honour another vote leave. For those that state that the UK could break apart with Brexit then even if we stay in the EU that is bound to happen. The only reason nationalist parties such as the SNP, Sinn Fein and Plaid Cymru exist is to break apart our country. Only time will tell if Brexit will be a disaster or a blessing but remember one thing, throughout Europe leaders are not actually in tune with their electorates and a successful Brexit could cause a domino effect, alternatively a disastrous one could change a few minds.
3
The clearest parallels between the US and UK is how the opposition is still split, the working class was realigned around retrenchment, and the leading alternative to the populist authoritarian is too left and not ready for prime time. The center cannot hold because the centrists lack a cohesive plan for a post-recession/post-industrial/post-climate change world. Third way can’t cut it anymore. Meanwhile the right and left are digging up dead ideas and painting them as the vision for radical change the people want. Unfortunately for the world, the right wing radicals are better united and clearer in purpose than their left wing counterparts. Even though they are terribly wrong; wrong, united, and decisive beats the alternative every election.
6
I have to agree with Boris Johnson on this.
Look, Britain voted for Brexit....i wouldn't have done it but they did. Now they need to move ahead and the time for talk is over.
7
They voted for a completely different exit, based arguably on elaborate lies from Johnson and his ilk. The brexit promoters never said, "hey, the is a good chance we will leave with no deal, a border crisis in Ireland and an economic downturn in the short run, are you ok with that?". If the British still favor exit under current terms, a vote would confirm that. It seems obvious that both the Tories and Labour are desperately afraid that the vote will reverse, especially if the young folks who stayed home last time vote this time.
13
If you suspend Parliament like this, what's likely next is King Charles III, not "head of government" PM Johnson, eh? There were infamous efforts to suspend Parliament (an ancient and revered institution in England that has a history very different from the Vatican, not least of which in the participation of women as law-makers and law-givers) during Britain's Civil Wars (c. 1600-1689) during which Charles I was tried and executed and Charles II's son James II was deposed in favor of his elder sisters (Mary II (co-regnant with William III) and Anne)). The Long Parliament (1640-1660), which debated some of the concepts that would later become part of the U.S. Constitution, was famously convened as a result of suspensions of Parliament).
QEII has less than two years to go before she turns 95, when she has said she will turn the vast majority of her responsibility over to Charles. Methinks the English will not tolerate three Kings Regnant in a row coming up next, though (probably a hundred years' worth) and big questions will be raised about at least deposing the Hanovers or abolishing the monarchy altogether (the vast majority of the value of it has been the existence of the Queens Regnant and the Hanoverian Dynasty appears to be persisting in not following English law internally, with regard to sex equality).
2
Slightly wrong with the dates as the English Civil War or Wars of the Three Kingdoms as it was also known as was between 1642 - 51. In the end the parliamentarians won a victory as parliament did achieve supremacy over the crown but the actual parliamentary rebels did suffer a nasty fate themselves as quite a few of them suffered a traitor's death on the accession of Charles II.
1
Do you think Steve Bannon and Robert Mercer among others are "shorting" Britain's economy or whatever it is that masters of the universe do to profit big time when a country's economy tanks?
22
@annied3 That would be wrong, so, yes.
2
Let the people of England and more than half of Americans commiserate together that which we have done to ourselves. Or perhaps we need to rue the day not too many years' ago each nation went to the polls. Here we are stuck with two corrupt degenerate men. For us Americans, it was out of ignorance, greed, and bigotry - with the help of Russia. No doubt evil forces were also behind the Brexit vote. I do know something, though: We have a choice. Either we can be silent, cry, whine, moan, and groan while feeling sorry for ourselves. Or...we can remember that both nations are STILL democracies where we STILL have voices and the power of the vote....I think.
25
John Oliver had a great piece a few weeks ago on Boris' shtick and how it is all a cover for a guy that is just another member of the "elite".
17
I am wondering once again if history repeatis repeating itself...History tells of a ruthless tribe called Vandals, a Teutonic tribe that managed to take over Rome in 455. Supposedly they sacked Rome, and left wreck and ruin in Europe. Historical accounts differ, but I think we've got some new Vandals in charge of the task of sacking Britain and America.
6
Clearly, based on the comments herein, American Democrats and so-called ‘progressives’ are more than OK with overturning the results of the Brexit election.
At the same time, of course, they criticize Johnson for his legal parliamentary maneuver as somehow anti-democratic.
The reality is that the Left wants what they want and everything else is illegitimate.
5
@EGD
What’s anti-democratic are the blatant lies that Johnson, Farage, and similar ilk told the populace to tilt the vote toward Brexit.
1
@EGD
Britain is not America. I feel it would help to restate that.
There are a lot of people who voted for Brexit on the left. This has caused the British Labour party no-end of its own trouble. It's leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has been a long-time critic of the EU. Labour voters in the south typically voted remain. Labour voters in the north typically voted leave. The vast majority of Tory voters voted to leave (70% of Tory constituencies) but by no means all.
The simplistic 'left' and 'right' labels don't work as well.
Plus the entire political spectrum in the UK is to the left of the US spectrum, and is pretty much the left-to-right of the US Democratic party.
Labour (Jeremy Corbyn) is pretty much level with Bernie Sanders. Boris Johnson is in more Hilary territory (fiercely capitalist, but still fairly socially-liberal - he voted for gay marriage and was mayor of a very cosmopolitan city, London).
In Britain, pretty much everyone is in favour of universal, single-payer healthcare (the NHS), guns and abortion debates don't exist and there are zero evangelicals. Jacob Rees-Mogg and other members of the ERG (~10% of Tories) are pretty close to Republicans. But would probably still differ on some things.
3
@Charles
Thank you.
My comment, though, was about comments herein by Americans.
The UK, the USA, Russia’s strategy is working. Spread disinformation, interfere in elections, create chaos within the population and within the governments, cause disruption and disorder, then move in and claim victory with a loud hearty laugh. Putin is sitting back with smile on his face enjoying the show and the win.
18
I just read the following comment- Brexit - The undefined, being negotiated by the unprepared, in order to get the unspecified, for the uninformed.
I couldn't agree more...
21
". . . the ruthless tactician who took office as prime minister this summer. With Brexit hanging in the balance, Mr. Johnson marshaled all the power of Downing Street to cut out the legs of a wobbly opposition, risking a constitutional crisis to get what he has promised."
The fact that Trump was/is so enamored with Johnson, gushing and falling all over him with praise while he was in the UK in May made he highly suspect of Johnson and his tactics.
Just what the world doesn't need - another reckless and power hungry bully in charge.
10
By describing Johnson’s past actions as mischievous, is to disregard the harm his policy positions have consistently caused. There’s nothing cute, boyish, or innocent about a lawmaker that seeks to pervert democracy.
11
So when is Scotland exiting the U.K.?
16
Boris Johnson's recklessness in his private and public life will catch up with him. The Brexit debacle was caused more by his naked ambition and manufactured lies than need. So, right now we’re seeing step two of his monumental destruction scheme. Hopefully, with the Scottish Tory pushback and cooler heads in London, including Jeremy Corbyn’s - hopefully intelligent alliance proposals - this crazy headed adventure can be put behind.
9
Please don’t use the word ‘naked’ in a sentence about Boris <>
3
The PM of Britain has to deal with Xi, Putin, Trump, all ruthless people. It takes one to deal with one.
Even Macron, under his banker polish, is one.
Good for Britain
6
Johnson is "in control" in roughly the same sense that captain of the Titanic could have aspired to, if he'd ordered the lifeboats to be destroyed.
6
By a 54-46 margin a recent poll shows Britons favour an October 31 departure even in a “No Deal” scenario. Why are the Times and many commenters siding with an obstructionist legislature over the will of the people?
4
Which poll was that? I don't see it. I see ones saying the reverse, I see Scotland and Northern Ireland do not want to leave, and I see today an overwhelming majority oppose suspension of Parliament. Why are you opposing these majorities?
4
What poll?
2
@Ian Crawshaw
This one, reported by Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-poll/more-britons-support-brexit-by-any-means-than-oppose-it-poll-shows-idUSKCN1V21YG
It specifically mentions proroguing Parliament.
A ComRes opinion poll showed 54% of respondents with an opinion on the matter said they agreed with the statement: “Boris (Johnson) needs to deliver Brexit by any means, including suspending parliament if necessary, in order to prevent MPs (Members of Parliament) from stopping it.”
1
Johnson's ambition as a child was to be king of the world. Look out America, as he was born in New York you could be next !
3
Johnson's behaviour today is outrageous. He is stifling the democratic process since he knows that Parliament does not agree with his proposal. Essentially this is the act of a coward unwilling to face his detractors in Parliament where just about everyone, MPs and public alike, know full well that he would lose.
A snap YouGov poll today of approx 5,500 people found that 47% of people opposed his action but only 27% supported it - https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1166717448118296576
Furthermore, a petition started on Parliament's website less than 10 hours ago now has in excess of 700K signatures protesting this course of action. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/269157
I'm lost for words to express my anger and contempt for the actions of the UK Government. It seems like today is the day that democracy in the UK has been put on life-support. Indeed it could be called "A Very British Coup".
4
You can behave however you want when your position isn't beholden to the people's vote!
2
Russia is every inch as happy about their handiwork in the UK as they are about America's meltdown. Talk about a jackpot return on a modest investment.
15
Once the UK dissolves, Trump should buy England and then sell it to Putin. Art of the deal! US keeps best parts - Scotland, Ireland - for itself.
It's about time the English feel what it is like to be traded about like chattel. They soon will if the USA has its way!
"Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!"
"Britons never, never, never shall be slaves."
But here we say : Never say never. Never, never!
1
The new autocrat is a clown on the outside and a wily, ambitious charlatan on the inside, with the intent of destroying the countries they've sworn to protect.
Maybe the press should begin to see if BoJo has any monetary ties to the Kremlin.
4
@L
Putin has traditionally gained a lot from political leaders named Boris. So no change there then.
1
What I have learnt time and again with the campaigns to save the Library here in Hove is that one's first reaction when facing something ghastly is fury (such as the time when Labour's Deputy Chair snarled at me "you should be ashamed of yourself" for having a campaign). With further thought, one realised that this snarl revealed weakness, and that very snarl was poor psychology, for it prompted campaigners to increase their efforts.
So it is with Johnson's behaviour today. He has shown himself not so much ruthless as desperate. And, in the process he has galvanised the scattered opposition forces to come together and put a broomhandle in his wheel.
A sign of this is that a Petition to overturn the Proguing was, in a few hours, at over 600,000, and probably very much more by now. As I said to library campaigners, a Petition has limited force, but as a sign of public fury it can be palpable.
There are sure to be many more twists and turns. "September Song" notes that "the days grow short" - but it is also a fact that a week is a long time in politics.
And Johnson has today shown himself to be weak, and this could be his downfall. His majority in his Uxbridge seat is shrinking. He could be known as the Prime Minister who could not keep it.
7
The Trump Mini-Me, Boris Johnson, has now braznely threatened the UK, saying:
"I'm going to burn my house down, to see if you blink!"
…. as the sun sadly sets, once and for all, on the British Empire.
5
BoJo has Dominic Cummings.
DJT has Steve Miller.
The citizenry of these two great nations?
They have nothing as long as these two imbeciles are at the helm.
It's no wonder that DJT is one of BoJo's greatest fans as he tweeted that BoJo is "...exactly what the U.K. has been looking for, and will provide be 'a great one'".
2
Self aggrandisement on all sides. Boris with his bulldozer brexit and the other side with endless talking and biggering and lack of action.
Trump and Johnson are Putin on a budget: all of the megalomania, with half the cunning.
7
The hair! An international bad hair conspiracy!
6
“...By cutting short the session of Parliament, he blew a hole in the opposition’s plan to take matters slowly...
Surely you jest...
After three years, that ship has sailed, sank, and been salvaged by pirates...
Somewhere Giles Corey is smiling...
3
Boris Johnson only played the fool for other fools to fall for.
4
Let me translate that for you:
- mischievous bravado = puerile and disrespectful
- ruthless tactician = lazy, deceitful dolt
This is a game for him, just like it is for Trump.
Bucket list √ Prime-Minister
Next? Simon says ..........
6
Welcome to a preview of our post-democracy, tribal world. For all of the patriotic, constitution-loving posturing of the right in the US, they love an autocrat, even a corrupt idiot like trump. The United States, Great Britain, Poland, Brazil, can the tide be turned?
4
Once a liar, always a liar.
4
Evil clowns are still evil and capable of much lasting harm - as we are all learning all too well. Johnson is as much a cartoon character as the evil idiot in this country but that superficial sense of goofiness does not make them funny or any less odious and hateful.
6
Sure now that he's in power his gloves come off and you see the REAL Johnson. At least he's not wearing orange makeup and a dyed weave - and he can, if he ants, compose a grammatically-correct sentence.
How he will deteriorate from here is anyone's guess.
4
Calm down folks, you have had Theresa May, by all accounts a totally reasonable person in the given circumstances, who you insulted on just about every turn and spit on every action or document she produced, now you cry over the BoJo who's a rougher and harsher player … Sore losers ...
2
It certainly appears that the authoritarian cancer is spreading, sadly strongly promoted by our wannabe dictator. Trumps encouragements of counter democratic principles to the likes of Orban, Bolsinaro and now Boris Johnson are all tactics he would like to pursue himself or has already set in motion. I thought we had one of the worst informed electorates, but the Brits now scooped us. What baffles me is why the Queen supports Johnson on his agenda to comit self immolation as it potentially will split her dominion.
2
Boris Johnson tweeting and speaking nicknames and slurs is no more ' ruthless' than snarky and snarling Donald Trump tweeting and speaking nicknames and slurs while watching Fox News and playing golf. Two ignorant immature intemperate insecure men who are mostly ridiculous.
Smiling and smirking Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Mohammed bin Salman are really gangster ruthless. Their foes end up in mental institutions, hospitals, prisons, urns and coffins.
4
Agree 100 percent.
2
Mischievous bravado? I think not. Like Trump, he's just a jerk whose primary concern is his own self-image.
5
Aside from the political content, the writer needs to brush up on the meanings of his incorrectly worded cliches, as well as the correct conjugation of verbs. I know the NYT can't afford copy editors, but know by making such disregard for our language available online, you are contributing directly to the inability of American English speakers' to communicate. The language is "going to Hell in a hand basket," and you are as responsible as anyone else.
2
If by ruthless you mean he's a jerk, then yes.
4
This is not a fact-based headline. Why don’t you leave it to the readers to decide the characterization?
1
"Adolph Hitler hurtled to the top of German politics with an air of charm and bemused anti-semitism. He slipped into high and low German, conjured up enemies when it suited his ambitions and oozed a mischievous malevolence and spontaneous exuberance, as when he danced a jig after his Stuka dive bombers lit up Czechoslovakia."
Really? What is this, feast, beast or fowl?
The earlier NYTimes report framed the story (accurately I think) as something other than a swashbuckling demolition derby champ "affectionately known as" BoJo who Trump opines is "exactly what the UK has been looking for."
The agony of having it both ways in journalism as a substitute for factual narrative is palpable.
Damn the icebergs, full speed ahead wasn't a strategy that served the Titanic. In fact it wasn't a strategy any more than Kipling's "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun" is a paean to the joys of colonialism.
This is the media mania of 2016 that fawned and fussed over an outrageous Trump and made him into the second coming of corporate media stock.
"Boys will be boys" as ex "timid" PM Theresa May discovered that solving problems isn't as shiny and fascinating as being a problem so far as media are concerned.
I hope this isn't a preview of what looms ahead as all the fit news without fear or favor about Trump's "norm-smashing maneuvers."
6
@Yuri Asian
Yuri, Kipling didn't write "Mad Dogs and Englishmen." Noel Coward did. It's a song lyric. Kipling didn't seem to have that much humor or sense of irony.
1
Interesting there has been no mention in this piece that, by cutting Parliament short, Johnson is signalling to the EU that they can’t count on Parliament stopping a no-deal Brexit. It may bring them back to the table for one last try to make a deal.
As a U.K. resident (though non-citizen), I don’t think I am alone in having wanted a different result in the referendum but accepted that the majority did not agree, and in fearing a no-deal Brexit but fearing Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister FAR more.
7
Scotland and Northern Ireland beg to disagree.
2
Seems Johnson and his Brexit proponents in the UK are as eager to return to the Dark Ages as their counterparts here.
A divided UK and divided Europe do not bode well for peace, prosperity, or social or political stability.
As commenter Heather wrote here earlier, who will benefit? Putin/Russia? China? Shady oligarchs? Multinational corporations?
As for those in the UK who THINK they'll benefit: once the chaos descends, anything goes - and no one is safe.
23
What makes the Right effective is that once a decision is made, every supporter swings behind it whether they agree with it or not, because that is how you get and retain power. The Left on the other hand continues to whinge and wring its hands long after decisions are made as they only want to support things they 100% agree with and they have no concept of power until it hits them in the face.
10
@Sipa111
So, one simple question- which style do you prefer- power at any cost or open honest discussion?
1
Likely we are witnessing the collapse of Britain's constitutional system (which, of course, will impart substantial damage to its economic and social institutions as well), brought on, of course, by the same incompetent elite that made such a mess of both their empire and its rapid dissolution. This is painful to watch, not the least because our own system appears to also to have possibly run its course.
21
Well already there is fallout which may be lethal for the Tories as Ruth Davidson is reported to step down as leader of the Scottish Tories. Davidson is credited with the resuscitation of the Tories in Scotland with 13 Conservative MPs in the last election. It is possible they may lose all of these seats in an election which may follow a No Deal Brexit giving the vehement opposition in Scotland to a Brexit in any form.
15
@Branagh
Closely followed by yet another demand from the Scottish National Party for another Scottish independence referendum.
In the meantime, Johnson has at a stroke undermined his position with his own party, many of whom are opposed to a no-deal exit. Which suggests a no confidence vote, a general election and then who knows what further chaos.
The fun just never ends.
12
Let them leave already without a deal. When the fall out hits home, BoJo and his ilk will own it. Had no one seriously considered what would happen to the Northern Ireland/Ireland border before they raved about how great the UK would be again after Brexit? That this backstop is a sticking point in itself demonstrates the fecklessness of this venture. Let them leave and reap what they have sown. A great trade deal with the U.S.? Wait until they are forced to import U.S. meat products, with antibiotics, etc. Wait until the UK agricultural sector is overwhelmed by U.S. products. Like the China trade war, they promised that Brexit would be so easy!
35
Divided or not, I think Labour will act - either politically or through he courts - to curtail this catastrophe in the making.
13
With the political-clown space already occupied, Johnson has no place to go but serious.
15
Chamberlain also appeared bold and decisive when he returned from his meeting with Hitler waving a piece of paper, and declaring 'peace in our time.' Quite the hero he was too, until Hitler invaded Poland.
46
@Leigh
Is this some trope served up in American school history classes? This simplistic idea that Chamberlain held in his hands the safety of the Western world and, through hubris, laziness and gullibility, tossed it away - snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Because it's nonsense. What options did Chamberlain have? Thanks to a near decade long global recession (due in large part to the actions of Americans), the UK's military investment had been far below desirable and the spending had been focused (correctly as it later turned out) on keeping the Royal Navy as the most powerful sea force in the world - and at the expense of the Army and Air.
Chamberlain knew that Great Britain - at that time - lacked the necessary military might to go to war with Germany. That's why he was so relieved to receive from a leader he believed to be a man of honour, a written reassurance of peaceful intent. A breathing space for rearmament, at worst.
It's a bit rich Americans criticising Chamberlain. Where were you guys? Lets not forget that FDR found it convenient for Great Britain and the Empire to fight Nazism on America's behalf for two long years - the second year completely unsupported by any allies, before being persuaded to enter the fray rather than concentrating solely on the war in the Pacific.
And 'peace in our time' is the mark of a casual historian. Chamberlain actually said 'peace FOR our time'. Subtly different.
11
And is this what is taught in UK schools? The UK and France declared war on Germany in 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. You naturally had to defend yourselves then. That was not our job. Americans were angry about WWI and did not want to enter WWII. That is what FDR was dealing with. Do you really want to have this argument now?
3
@nolongeradoc
It's a bit rich both ways of criticism. Your defense of Chamberlain is reasonable. Yet, as Catherine says, you failed to understand what FDR had to deal with in the U.S.
1
The article is misjudged in that it frames this as a clever, though ruthless, bit of realpolitik. In fact this is a coup, cutting the Mother of All Parliaments to the core.
This is not about left or right, it's a constitutional takeover. The article appears to suggest "Oooh, what a surprise! What a clever maneuvere." The reality is this is a prime minister fine rogue and the fate of the uk as any discernibly democracy in the balance.
92
@simon...what both the UK and US are navigating is that true democracy is the sham we've suspected it to be all along. It's lofty idealism, like other failed systems, reflect only could be's, not the true motives of the ruling class. One of these centuries, maybe we'll start paying attention to history. Well, maybe not...
7
Putin is delighted.
113
@syfredrick
Yes, so much easier to have the western, free-market democracies bring themselves down internally than spend exorbitant sums on espionage, save for some bargain-priced, social networking memes.
4
Boris Johnson is another narcissistic wannabe. The only people he's charmed are the cattle who can't think for themselves and have no judgement.
80
@Richard Gordon Unfortunately, those cattle are omnipresent, immune to education and logic, and delight in pouring sand in the gears. It would seem that the Luddites never died off.
5
Foolishness should not be confused with ruthlessness. Johnson isn’t being ruthless-that would imply some amount of conviction. He is simply playing a card and waiting to see how it pans out: “How will the opposition react? how will Europe respond? How will his adoring FANS respond-will they crown him hero?”
At least he is delivering on his promises-consequences be damned. And while I do care for the consequences, like the previous commenter, I’m also looking forward to this being over!
11
Boris Johnson is determined to make Britain irrelevant on the world stage and seems likely now to make that a reality. Based on the way Trump handled himself at the recent G7 meeting, he seems to have the same goal in mind for the US. Americans should feel lucky in that we will have a year to watch a country slip into irrelevancy before we decide if Trump will have an additional four years to complete his task.
46
Johnson was elected by only 92,153 conservative members. That's 0.2% of the UK's voting population.
Which is to say that his mandate is to enforce the wishes of his party, not the country.
And, remarkable as it sounds, 52% of his party are in favor of shutting down parliament in order to push through Brexit.
His goal is to ensure the survival of his political party. He knows that they will be devoured by the Farage-ists if they fail to enforce Brexit.
The health, happiness, and fortune of the country is of secondary importance.
Fortunately for Johnson and the rest of the conservatives, they're likely rich enough to be sheltered from the worst effects of Brexit.
38
@Naomi Rosen
A neat and informed summary. What a pity so many Brits don't seem to know this.
2
Despite the constant comparison between Trump and Johnson, this shows that Johnson is not a bumbler like Trump. He is capable of coherent tactics and strategy. Trump’s only skill is to use hate mongering and cruelty to cement his base. This makes Johnson more dangerous than Trump. Another interesting comparison is the selfish recklessness of Corbin. If he had been a true leader he would have stopped trying to use the Brexit crisis to become Prime Minister and instead worked to save the UK from a catastrophic no-deal Brexit, this crisis could have been resolved less painfully. Ironically he probably would have become Prime Minister when everything was sorted out. In comparison Nancy Pelosi has shown great skill and wisdom as she tries to limit the damage Trump does. We are luckier than the UK and may yet get through the Trump presidency with less catastrophic damage than the no-deal Brexit the UK faces. One other thing the US and the UK have in common is that their respective conservative parties seem to have a death wish. In the UK, if Johnson uses a parliamentary trick to force a hard Brexit which causes a major recession, the Tory party will be reduced to a rump party after the next election. In the US, the demise of the Republican party will take more time but, despite its attempts to suppress the opposition through gerrymandering and voter suppression, the Republican party’s strategy of subservience to Trump at any cost guarantees that it is also living on borrowed time.
17
@JS -- It is far from clear that a no-deal Brexit is a "coherent strategy."
It looks more like falling in the deep end.
23
@Mark Thomason Johnson's Brexit strategy is a coherent strategy to reach an irrational goal. Trump has not shown any strategy or even a coherent goal in his dealings with China, North Korea, Iran or even Venezuela. He seems to believe he can simply will an outcome by alternately using bluster and threats followed by supportive statements. He gets irrationally angry when it does not work and goes back to threats.
4
@Mark Thomason
So maybe our farmers can sell soybeans to the one market that is left to us since Trump told Boris that we have a wonderful trade deal with them.
4
“Today has confirmed what many had suspected for so long about his leadership style, that he is willing to be quite ruthless in his pursuit of Brexit"
NO.
Today has confirmed what was revealed on the first day of Britain Trump's mock government: that he is willing to be quite ruthless in his pursuit of POWER.
His plan from day one is to create the impression that the only obstacle to Brexit utopia is Westminster and Brussels.
He is terrified of a catastrophic no-deal exit from the EU at Halloween, for which he'd be blamed, and assumes elected politicians will play into his hand by formally blocking it, so he can turn to 'The People' they represent and say 'Vote for me, get your Brexit'.
Meanwhile the 'opposition' is hopelessly divided by a man correctly identified here as a Eurosceptic, who probably hopes he can benefit from crashing out as he's wanted for almost 50 years (!) but with Conservatives getting all the blame.
Not just a mock government playing at phoney war, but a mockery of democratic politics in general, echoing the freak show in Washington.
80
@Martin I could not agree more.
Could this be played on the telly hourly back in the UK?
2
@tbgb303
Some commentators have correctly identified the Johnson (or rather his Bannon, Dominic Cummings') Strategy, but most, like this article, just feeds his plan by taking it at face value, on his terms.
The 'opposition' is not only hopelessly divided (under Labour's version of Cummings, 70s 'Aristostalinist' Seumas Milne) but thoroughly disoriented, with very little collective idea of what they actually want, or how to get it.
So far, American-born 'Britain Trump', 'The Johnson', clearly has a good strategy for a bad end. His many opponents, including 2/3 of the electorate, seem still, as in the early days of America Trump, very little idea of what they're up against.
“Today has confirmed what many had suspected for so long about his leadership style, that he is willing to be quite ruthless in his pursuit of Brexit"
1
Revealed? I imagine his character was already revealed at Eton...
26
@sedanchair Yes, and another entitled guaranteed-at-birth admission to Eton. Not quite a meritocracy, of course. Like Trump's admission to Wharton, thanks to family connections. Despite his claim that he graduated with honors, the Wharton public graduation records reflect that Trump was once again lying. No honors. Trump couldn't initially even get into Wharton, going instead first to Fordham, an OK but nothing-to-write- home about school. BoJo and Trump are beneficiaries of privilege and entitlement from the get go. They deserve each other and the UK deserves all of the blow back to come from a no deal Brexit. Don't let the door hit you in the rear on the way out.
4
The Brexit vote occurred before the 2016 US elections. If any of us had had any foresight, we could’ve seen the ominous writing on the wall.
Trump, Johnson, Farage, Bolsonaro, Putin, Kim, and Xi have succeeded by appealing to one of the strongest emotions — fear. They point out a false enemy and recall “better times,” when everything was peaches and cream.
There are three reactions to fear: fight, flight and freeze. It seems to me the UK has reached the freeze phase, and the US is getting there.
28
Brilliant tactic. BoJo has found the weak underbelly of the opposition, indecisive debate, neither side relinquishing their positions. Government of paralysis.
The everyday Brit will embrace decisive leadership, taking a page out of the Trump playbook, for that matter all the Great leaders !
7
@Kenneth Johnson
As an everyday Brit, I can assure you that Trump is a figure of intense mockery and derision in the UK.
He's a sex pest. A know-nothing. A bully and a sycophant. A daddy's boy afraid of stairs and germs and people with brown skin. A man without culture. A man without humor. A man who can only survive through corruption.
We don't like people like that. Americans used to be smart enough to dislike them too.
13
@Kenneth Johnson "Decisive leadership" and "Trump" do NOT belong in the same sentence. Unless you see a landed fish flopping around as "decisive".
4
Few people thought Columbo was an adroit detective, too.
5
Tom Brown may have gone to Rugby, but there are entitled bullies in every British public school.
Boris, with his charm, ineptitude, and ruthlessness is utterly reminiscent of Henry Flashman.
7
@Rey Buono
Gosh, I went to Ruby School - at the time considered the close second to Eton - about 10 years before Johnson attended the latter.
Yet, I can't say we were inculcated with any of the 'values' apparently prevalent at Eton college. Humility, gratitude, respect for others, compassion for the weak and vulnerable, duty and public contribution were the orders of the day. Careers in the professions, the military, the Church and government service. Scholastically, we were on another planet. A bit left-wing too... peace, love, stop that war in Vietnam etc.
Harry Flashman was thankfully no more in the early 1970s - although he'd trained some able successors. Stern discipline, rough sports, terrible food, primitive conditions and odd brutalistic rituals - all at huge cost to parents. I'm not sure what good it did me. Perhaps my folks should have picked Eton,
2
@Rey Buono
Gosh, I went to Rugby School - at the time considered the close second to Eton - about 10 years before Johnson attended the latter.
Yet, I can't say we were inculcated with any of the 'values' apparently prevalent at Eton college. Humility, gratitude, respect for others, compassion for the weak and vulnerable, duty and public contribution were the orders of the day. Careers in the professions, the military, the Church and government service. Scholastically, we were on another planet. A bit left-wing too... peace, love, stop that war in Vietnam etc.
Harry Flashman was thankfully no more in the early 1970s - although he'd trained some able successors. Stern discipline, rough sports, terrible food, primitive conditions and odd brutalistic rituals - all at huge cost to parents. I'm not sure what good it did me. Perhaps my folks should have picked Eton,
The Queen ducked her role as 'unifier' of the nation. She had the power to stop him, and she didn't. Stay tuned...
11
@TWM The Queen doesn't have he power to stop him, unfortunately. The Queen can only act on the advice of the prime minister, she cannot stop the prime minister doing what he wants. She is effectively compelled to agree to whatever Johnson wants apart from certain circumstances which I believe is being investigated now.
5
It’s a lesson we keep forgetting and must remember to keep relearning: People want to feel they are in control of their own destinies, and would rather knowingly suffer economic calamity, or political discord, and even chaos than (in this case a cohort of the British population) feel themselves dominated by the interests of foreign governments - even to their own detriment.
28
@semari the problem with that argument is that much of the crowd championing Brexit have already suffered through the impact of globalization and now they are courting further suffering by trying to put the genie back into the bottle. Wealthy Brits, like Johnson, have made money hand over fist so they can just take the next flight out of Gatwick when chaos ensues. The remaining people won’t be in control of anything
26
Looks like they're heading for a Brextension.
1
Johnson will be "in control" right up until the UK plunges over the cliff. Then gravity is in control.
261
https://youtu.be/dXyO_MC9g3k
This link goes to the July 28, 2019 episode of John Oliver. It's a smart portrayal of the PM.
1
If Boris Johnson were the pilot of a plane, at this point he would be in the back of the aircraft having a drink with his co-pilot and no one would be at the controls. He would, however, be using the intercom to reassure his frightened passengers that all was well. My question: is there another pilot somewhere, or is the UK due for a crash?
71
@James
Comrade Corbyn; cometh the hour, cometh the man.
3
BoJo doesn't like that Parliament is ready to block his Thelma-and-Louise-drive-off-the-cliff-tank-the-economy Brexit "plan" so he decided to shut down Parliament. How very Putin-like.
176
World wide authoritarian tsunami continues unabated. Tyrants everywhere you look and more in the making.
114
I can assure you many of us over this side of the pond have always known Johnson is ruthless. One of the first times he came to notice to the UK public, was when he conspired to have a journalist beaten up.
158
Brexit has always been a terrible deal spurred on by nitwits, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Farrage the nittiest wits of them all.
That said, Brexit was voted on fair and square and the Leavers won. Mr. Johnson tried to push responsibility for his carnage onto Mrs. May, but now the mess is entirely his. I fear that the privilege he swims in will ultimately insulate him from the worst of the consequences. He's likely banking on that, too.
Ultimately the UK will suffer and may even collapse altogether. Perhaps there will be astonishingly cheap tourism in the near future. I'd love to see Cambridge again.
46
@Christopher
It wasn’t a “fair and square” election.
Not even in a parallel universe.
8
It's becoming increasingly clear that a deal is impossible, and the only solution is to leave without one. There will be disruptions, and probably slowed growth, but the British people didn't vote to slightly modify the terms of their EU membership, they voted to leave, they voted for independence, and they didn't attach a price tag to it.
There will not be, and nor can there ever be one big deal-- the solution is, over the coming years and decades, to reach targeted, mutually beneficial deals with the EU and others. Ones which are far easier to withdraw from when it becomes clear that the deal is working far more for one side than the other.
Trying to withdraw from the EU with a deal is like trying to divorce, while still planning to live in the same house and share the same bed-- problematic, loaded with clashing expectations, and probably unworkable.
12
Some couples reconcile. Assuming both are sane.
18
@Alexander -- The problem has been as much Ireland as Brexit.
The Troubles were settled. Now they are thrown open again. The Good Friday Agreement is off.
There is just no way for Ireland to be in, and Northern Ireland out, without a border. In vs out means a border. Yet having a border abrogates the Agreement for partial unification, papering over the Troubles.
Then there is Scotland, which was Remain, and verging on separating anyway in two votes so far, gaining some autonomy each time.
We are looking at a rump Britain, of England and Wales, and even the ancient union with Wales (and Cornwall) will be strained.
This is bungled on a level few seem to face.
13
“the British people... voted to leave”. No they didn’t! The English voted to leave. The Scots and Northern Irish voted to remain but soon may be voting to leave the U.K.
6
The Left — and much of the media — consistently underestimates the Right. And the Right thrives on this.
Reagan, Thatcher, Trump, now Johnson...
57
@Whatever. It’s not possible to underestimate Trump. If he gets through a day without alienating an ally I am impressed.
24
Don’t forget Putin.
3
As most of the media in the UK is owned by Right wing interests, it doesn't underestimate people like Johnson it connives with them. The Brexit vote was based on lies and foreign meddling. The British will pay for decades for this disaster.
12
Like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson has risen to success by ignoring norms that do not serve his interests. But the opponents of these brash men remain stuck in neutral, unable to respond effectively because they insist on playing by different rules. Brexit opponents, like Democrats in the U.S., will have to learn to take their gloves off if they ever expect to succeed.
28
Meh, predictable enough to me and I don’t live in the UK.
Of course the other side has gamed this out. It will be a hard brexit and we will all regret it. Elections have consequences.
11
By now the only way forward is a no-deal Brexit and let them suffer the harsh consequences. Any other, softer outcome will always be portrayed as a betrayal and the no-deal scenario will become a mythical land - like Avalon.
9
In my mind, Johnson is far more interested in a general election than a vote in Parliament in regards to the Oct. 31 departure of the EU. If Parliament in a binding vote denies the option of a no deal Brexit, Johnson is truly stymied. But a vote of non confidence Johnson would welcome, since that would force an election he could very well win. Thus, the prorogation of Parliament, forcing Parliament to probably unseat him (with many members of his own party voting against the government) fits right into Johnson's plans. Of course, winning an election might not matter much when one considers the state of Great Britain's economy after the chaotic retreat across the Channel after Oct. 31.
7
The Tories think this is the best way to keep their positions in the Parliament just as when Theresa May was PM. The Conservatives are not a majority. They lost their majority in the last election. The 51-47 victory in the Brexit referendum was full of questions of how strong the support of the measure was and more importantly many have questioned that voters didn't know the ramifications of their vote. The Parliamentary election after Brexit indicates that plenty of 2nd thoughts have occurred among the voters. Johnson is going to have to stand for election by the voters soon to remain PM. These Parliamentary maneuvers have virtually left the Conservatives position unchanged. They have no earthly idea of what Brexit will do to the UKs position in the world. Crashing out of the EU into some sort of big trade deal with Trump indicate wishful thinking is their only game plan.
16
Parliament may be hopelessly divided on almost every issue, but perhaps they will unite in opposition to being sidelined.
37
Can Trump buy Britain instead of Greenland? After Brexit it should be reasonable priced and the affiliation will be mutually beneficial.
133
@Dragotin Krapuszinsky
Hope the US can get to buying it before Russia does.
7
@Dragotin Krapuszinsky, I think he plans to. After all, he's king of the world, in his own estimation. And I hear he's planning to slash social security and medicare as the first generation stripped of pensions under Reagan is trying to retire. That should give him an extra couple of billion to blow on what remains of the British empire. And a trillion on another tax cut for his pals. If that's what you mean by "mutually beneficial."
8
Actually, Mr. Johnson may be right to force no deal Brexit. The British parliament seems incapable of agreeing on anything, so there does not seem to be a real possibility of them ever agreeing on a negotiated Brexit treaty with the EU. So if the choice is between a no deal Brexit on October 30 or kicking the can down the road indefinitely, with no real promise of ever agreeing to any deal, then biting the bullet and leaving without a deal on Oct. 30 will at least let everyone move on. Once the true consequences of leaving the EU without a deal become clear, then perhaps the politicians in Parliament will finally have to confront them and deal with the situation.
29
@Ira Loewy
Some years ago, a museum visitor tripped on his shoelace, stumbled down a stairway and destroyed a set of priceless 300-year-old Chinese vases.
This forced the museum to confront the situation.
9
@Ira Loewy
“Move on”?
Move where, exactly?
Must be nice observing from all those miles away.
4