London - Boris Johnson, the Brexiteer who
has promised to lead Britain out of the European Union with or
without a deal by the end of October, will replace Theresa May
as prime minister after winning the leadership of the
Conservative Party on Tuesday.
His convincing victory catapults the United Kingdom towards
a showdown with the EU and towards a constitutional crisis at
home, as British lawmakers have vowed to bring down any
government that tries to leave the bloc without a divorce deal.
Johnson, the face of the 2016 Brexit referendum, won the
votes of 92,153 members of the Conservative party, almost twice
the 46,656 won by his rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
May will leave office on Wednesday after going to Buckingham
Palace to see Queen Elizabeth, who will formally appoint Johnson
before he enters Downing Street.
"We are going to get Brexit done on Oct. 31, and we are
going to take advantage of all the opportunities it will bring
in a new spirit of 'can do'," Johnson, 55, said after the result
was announced.
"Like some slumbering giant, we are going to rise and ping
off the guy-ropes of self-doubt and negativity."
Johnson said the mantra of his leadership campaign had been
to "deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat (opposition
Labour leader) Jeremy Corbyn - and that is what we are going to
do".
Within half an hour of his victory, U.S. President Donald
Trump had tweeted his congratulations, adding: "He will be
great!".
The men have recently been complimentary about each other -
yet Trump is one of the many world leaders, including Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan,
about whom Johnson has previously made derogatory remarks. In
2015, he accused Trump, then a candidate for office, of
"stupefying ignorance" that made him unfit to be president.
The victory for one of Britain's most flamboyant politicians
places an avowed Brexit supporter in charge of the government
for the first time since the United Kingdom voted to leave the
EU in the shock 2016 referendum.
But Johnson - known for his ambition, untidy blond hair,
flowery oratory and cursory command of policy detail - takes
office at one of the most tumultuous junctures in post-World War
Two British history.
The pound has fallen sharply in recent weeks on fears of a
no-deal Brexit, and stands near $1.24, around its
lowest level for two years. With Johnson's win already priced
in, it was little changed on Tuesday.
DIVIDED KINGDOM
The 2016 Brexit referendum showed a United Kingdom divided
about much more than the European Union, and has fuelled
soul-searching about everything from regional secession and
immigration to capitalism, the legacy of empire, and modern
Britishness.
Brexit, which has already toppled two Conservative prime
ministers, will dominate.
Johnson has pledged to negotiate a new Brexit divorce deal
with the EU to secure a smooth transition out of the EU before
Oct. 31. But if the bloc refuses, as it insists it will, he has
promised to leave anyway - "do or die" - on the current agreed
date of Oct. 31 - Halloween.
It is a step that many investors and economists say would
send shock waves through world markets and tip the world's fifth
largest economy into recession or even chaos.
The EU said a no-deal Brexit would be a tragedy for both
parties but again said the withdrawal deal was not up for
negotiation.
"We look forward to working constructively with PM Johnson
when he takes office, to facilitate the ratification of the
withdrawal agreement and achieve an orderly Brexit," tweeted the
bloc's negotiator, Michel Barnier.
A Brexit without a divorce deal would also weaken London’s
position as the pre-eminent international financial centre while
jolting the northern European economy.
Johnson's Conservatives have no majority in parliament and
need the support of 10 lawmakers from Northern Ireland's
Brexit-backing Democratic Unionist Party to govern.
Even then, the majority is wafer-thin - and some lawmakers
have threatened to bring down the government, a step that would
probably deepen Britain's political crisis and lead to an
election.
"PM BORIS"
The rise of Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, often
referred to as simply "Boris", to the top of British politics is
the grandest twist so far in a career that has taken him from
journalism via TV-show fame, comedy and scandal into the
political brinkmanship of Britain’s Brexit crisis.
Born in New York, Johnson was educated at Eton, Britain’s
most exclusive school, and at Balliol College, Oxford. He began
his career at a management consultancy in the City of London but
dropped out after a week.
He then turned to journalism, but was sacked from the Times
newspaper for making up quotes.
Hired by the Daily Telegraph, Johnson infuriated European
officials and delighted then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher by
lampooning the European Economic Community with a host of
sometimes misleading reports from Brussels.
After entering politics, he was sacked from the Conservative
Party’s policy team while in opposition for lying about an
extramarital affair. He and his wife announced last year they
were to divorce and he is currently in a relationship with the
party's former communications chief, Carrie Symonds.
But his sometimes shambolic personal appearance and
disarmingly self-deprecating persona have allowed him to survive
both gaffes and scandal. He served two terms as London mayor,
from 2008 to 2016.
His embrace of a court jester role has won over many
Britons, fed up of what many see as an out-of-touch political
establishment too centred on a London elite. But critics say he
lacks the gravitas the job requires.
"He has shown time and time again that he isn’t fit to be
the prime minister of our country," Jo Swinson, leader of the
pro-EU Liberal Democrat party.
In 2016, Johnson became one of the most recognisable faces
of the Brexit campaign, which won the referendum by 52% to 48%,
but faced accusations of making misleading claims to win
support, most notably by stating that Britain would be 350
million pounds ($440 million) a week better off outside the EU.
"I know that there will be people around the place who will
question the wisdom of your decision, and there may be some
people here who still wonder what they have done," Johnson told
party members after his victory was announced.
"I will just point out to you that no one party, no party
has a monopoly of wisdom."