Conservative Party is on its way to become an English nationalist party rather than a unionist one. However, despite all controversies surrounding Boris Johnson’s personal life, what has helped his taking up the reins of the 10 Downing Street is the rock solid support of the Conservative voters and the party members for his hard-line stand on Brexit. Now after he has win the PM race, his task is cut out
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson has taken up the reins of the British Prime Minister’s office at a crucial juncture when the UK is neither moving out of the European Union nor it is able to decide what should be the next viable course of action. Some say Johnson is an illusionist, some claim he is a true post-modern classicist, and for others, he is “first British French Prime Minister” and “Donald Trump of Britain”. However, his true identity will be known only when he takes feasible steps to redeem his promise of Brexit.
The Brexit task, which took the job of his predecessor Theresa May, is very troubling for Johnson too. This Brexit debate between Brexiteers and remainers has increasingly become radical. Critics see both Johnson and his do-or-die Brexit as the nothing but the rise of English nationalism. Thus the Conservative Party is on its way to fast become an English nationalist party rather than a unionist one. A recent YouGuv poll indicated that 63 per cent of Tory members would rather see Scotland independent than lose Brexit. Further, the Conservative Party is now more concerned about losing voters to another English nationalist party i.e. Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, than it is about keeping this great historic land intact. They all must understand that the economic cost of a Brexit-led break-up of the UK would be definitely unmanageable.
Johnson’s Ministerial Cabinet is far too right than former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the 1980s. Thatcher never had a Home Secretary as remotely illiberal as Priti Patel, never had a Foreign Secretary as xenophobic as Dominic Raab, never even had a Chancellor as anti-state interventionist as Sajid Javid, and never had a Defence Secretary as bellicose as Ben Wallace. Thatcher deliberately wrecked the social democratic society wherein many had grown up to live their lives. And this was done to destroy any capability of the working class people to protect themselves from the wraths of the wealthy sections of society. But Thatcher never brought private players to the National Health Service or state-run schools. She maintained free university education in England and in Wales. That was destroyed by Tony Blair during his ten years of rule. But then many of the Britons had accepted the Thatcher regime as the definitive most right-wing Government possible in the recent political history of the country. However, the current one, many observes, can be treated as the most vociferous and right-wing Government since 1832. Priti Patel openly admires the approach to law and order followed by Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. She also voted against a measure to stop pregnant asylum seekers being sent to immigration detention centres pending hearing. Javid, who is a Chancellor now, once vetoed as a Business Secretary the tariffs in Brussels against dumped Chinese steel that finally caused the problems for British steel. Raab, who is now handling the crucial Foreign Office, had negotiated a deal with the EU but ultimately resigned because it was too bad. Thus how the new Government would spearhead Britain is a matter of serious question for the Britons as well as for the global policy observers.
Around the same time, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in an electrifying speech, highlighted the shame of anti-semitism in his own Labour Party. He warned, “The Union is today more at risk than at any time in 300 years and more in danger than when we had to fight for it in 2014 during a bitter Scottish referendum.” He also noted that there was much more at risk than simply the unity and integrity of the country. To him, the country is fast losing a series of values, which it used to enjoy in the past for generations i.e. “tolerance, respect for diversity and being outward looking”. These all are threatened by various competing narrow nationalisms.
About Johnson himself, people are not sure how he will lead Britain out of the EU. He can easily be regarded as one of the most arresting and entertaining political leaders of the country at this moment. He is definitely a sprezzatura who goes completely out of his way to look dishevelled and sound unprepared whenever he is appearing in the public.
He is, as many says, is trying to project himself as Britain’s first French Prime Minister. It is so because that the way he is safeguarding his private life simply resembles how in the past the French President’s like François Mitterrand and Francois Hollande did. But unlike the French people, the British people take keen interest in the personal lives of their political leaders. This could be one of the few challenges that Johnson might encounter in course of time. This might serve as a fatal blow even to his political survival if he handles such matters recklessly.
Many say that Johnson has taken a Trumpian path to reach 10 Downing Street. Even Trump called him “Britain’s Trump” while congratulating him for his victory in the election. This former London mayor resembles more to the 45th President of the US, Donald Trump, than anyone else. Three years ago, the slogan to stop Trump was “# Never Trump” and it came from the conservatives lobby only. It was done to prevent Trump from winning presidential nomination from the Republican Party. In the same manner, the establishment Conservatives in the UK issued a call, saying “Anyone but Boris”. The establishment Torries rallying cry was meant to stop Johnson from becoming the next Prime Minister of Britain. Unfortunately, like the “#Never Trump” movement, this one in Britain has miserably failed. Rather, it has garnered more support for Johnson to head his Westminster Cabinet for which he was desperately waiting for quite some time.
Both Trump and Johnson are true evidences that demonstrate that voters like those who speak their minds. Even if they do not understand what they are speaking, people voted for them and came out in their support. Interestingly, their political speak is replaced by spontaneous thought, leaving many a time, both their critics and sympathisers enraged and enthralled. Johnson looks remarkably inept. Unlike Trump, Johnson is not very active in his twitter account. But like Trump, his penchant for making politically incorrect blunders simply suggest this public platform would suit him very well. Moreover Johnson is concerned with publicity stunts than with the nuts and bolts of political reform that Britain awaits desperately at the moment.
Despite all the controversies surrounding him and his country at the moment, what has helped Johnson coming to the 10 Downing Street is the consistent support of the Conservative voters and the party members who were behind him for his hard-line stand on Brexit. Though he has been ducking debate with his opponent and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, his voters supported him for the top job. Throughout the campaign, he was largely invisible. After facing constant criticism from the Opposition, he started appearing in a series of interviews speaking about his plan to leave the EU by October 31 to his hobby of painting buses on old wine boxes. But he was clever enough to avoid his private life all the time.
However, to be a good leader and a successful politician, Johnson has to take firm stands, because a politician can’t achieve anything tangible without taking hard decisions. Amid the Brexit campaign, Remainer Amber Rudd, the former Home Secretary, once said, “Boris is the life and soul of the party, but you would not want him driving you home.” But today, Boris Johnson is driving the entire nation “home”.
(The writer is an expert on international affairs)
