UK, Brexit and National Nightmare

October 31 is the deadline for UK’s exit from European Union (EU). British Prime Minister Boris Johnson nowadays like the insane has a hand on any issue but he can do nothing with the Brexit and it has turned into a nightmare for British Queen, the government, the intelligence service, the parliaments and political parties and so far several ministers have been forced to leave their jobs for inability in implementing rational exit from EU. And it is predicted that Johnson is from the same mold of British men who ties his party, legal and parliamentary credit to the success or failure in accomplishing the Brexit process.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

On September 25 Jonson in an interview with ITV News said,“the European Union will move on the thorny issue of the backstop, designed to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit.” Of course it should be mentioned that Johnson is doing his best for winning the approval of the House of Lords for its support on new agreement on the Brexit and to remove this paragraph from the Brexit agreement with EU. This paragraph was included in the agreement during former British Prime Minister Theresa May and Brussels talks for implementation of the Brexit, and it was to some extent a guarantee for preventing the creation of a physical border between some part of Ireland which is actually part of Britain and Republic of Ireland which is an EU member. But this was a serious and major hurdle on way to win the support of the parliament during Theresa May’s premiership.

In his interview with ITV News, Johnson said that he UK will leave the European Union on October 31, despite a law ordering him to request an extension if he cannot reach a deal with the EU.

Asked whether he thought the EU would move on the issue (backstop), Johnson told ITV: “Yes, I do. And they already genuinely have moved in the sense that they’re willing to consider other ways that allow us to work with our Irish friends to accomplish several things.”

Former Tory MP and Home Secretary Amber Rudd who was also ready in the interview asserted that Mr Johnson’s rhetoric has turned people against Parliament and it was “dishonest and dangerous”. Rudd resigned from the government and the party last September.

If we take look on at the list of casualties of the Brexit, we realize that over 100 British politicians, at the top of them prime ministers like Theresa May, have been the victims of the Brexit. Ms. May even during her premiership and during the voting on the Brexit threatened the parliament as she repeatedly warned “if the Brexit does not win the parliament approval, British economy will face the danger of the exit from EU without any certain agreement, and it means the economic growth of the country would be negative at least for 2019. Secondly, Britain faces danger of partition because while the Scottish have political incentive for independence from Britain, they will also gain economic momentum. They want to remain in EU and they do not see any reason to pay for doubts and disputes of British lawmakers.”

Ms. May in opposition to Johnson said, “Any change in the Brexit document should be approved by majority of the parliament.”

Of course it should be noticed that according to the new British law which was approved in 2011, in two conditions the country can hold snap election: At least two-thirds of parliament members vote for it and the second condition is no-confidence vote for the prime minister, it means the parliament does not trust the prime minister and his cabinet.(Brexit and National Nightmare)

So Jonson’s pre-emptive action to request the British Queen to suspend the parliament has been in this regard. The British Supreme Court in its ruling said Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks was unlawful. The unanimous judgment from 11 justices on the UK’s highest court followed an emergency three-day hearing that exposed fundamental legal differences over interpreting the country’s unwritten constitution.

This ruling made the political developments complicated in Britain especially in the Brexit case and some analysts believe that it was a historic move and it has made Jonson’s position shaky. The ruling was totally against Jonson’s policies as he tried to get the Queen’s approval for suspension of the parliament for five months. Johnson by this decision tried to remove legal hurdles in way of full implementation of the Brexit even without any agreement with EU. Actually Johnson was trying to round the parliament for implementing the Brexit process by the October 31 deadline. Now nobody knows what will be the fate of Jonson and his party after several defeats in the parliament.

American newspaper New York Times wrote, U.S. President Donald Trump who is in some ways similar to Jonson has encouraged him. Trump in his United Nations General Assembly speech encouraged the British Prime Minster and pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings against some of his decisions but he is still in the office.

Some believe that Johnson is after a snap election but it does not seem so because this needs at least two-thirds of parliament member’s approvals. The condition for Johnson is getting tough and worse so that his authority for taking actions freely has been limited.

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labor Party, and the major opposition to Jonson believes the Prime Minister has not administered the country properly, and for this reason Johnson’s name will be registered in the history as Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister. So in current situation, the status between UK and EU can be called a national nightmare, and as the result, the process for making decision over the fate of the Brexit is moving in a direction that Jonson will be another Brexit casualty like Ms. May.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian