“Bye bye, Mr Brexit”. This time, it’s really over: Boris Johnson officially leaves his post as Prime Minister on Tuesday, September 6. Disowned by his people in July, after numerous scandals, the conservative politician was at the head of a transitional government until Liz Truss was chosen by a vote of conservative voters on Monday and took his place.
A leading figure in the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (EU), for which he campaigned extensively in 2016, the former journalist took over from Theresa May in July 2019. Ironically, the former conservative Prime Minister had also been disavowed by her party, this time for holding negotiations with the EU. Coming to power triumphantly in July 2019, the Brexit star finally turned into a shooting star, to spend barely three years at the head of the country. What remains of Boris Johnson? Franceinfo takes stock.
A Brexit “done”, but not finished
Inseparable from Brexit, Boris Johnson devoted a large part of his short term to it. It must be said that since joining the camp of “yes”during the campaign preceding the Brexit referendum in 2016, the politician became a strong supporter of a Brexit “hard”, promising to leave the EU, the single market and the customs union. He is also one of the slayers of Theresa May, when he is Minister of Foreign Affairs, in 2018, during negotiations with the EU. After the fall of the latter, he was chosen by the deputies on a simple promise: “Get Brexit done”(“End Brexit”). A promise that will earn him the support of the British during the parliamentary elections in 2019, as explained by the Time*.
Has the promise been kept? “In a sense, yes, Brexit is over as Boris Johnson has managed to negotiate and ratify a deal with the EUexplains to franceinfo Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics at King’s Middle School from London. But in reality, Brexit is not really over. First, because Boris Johnson has chosen to question the agreement on Northern Ireland with the EU, but also because London’s relations with Brussels will remain a major political subject for the next 15 years.“
The problem, as the relieves Simon Usherwoodprofessor of international politics at the Open university, in Milton Keynes, “is that he was never able to define precisely what Brexit was”. Results, “he got a deal in December 2020, but he immediately criticized it” and “did not seek a compromise with the EU to transform it”. “He respected his slogan, but that’s all”concludes the researcher.
A mixed economic record, marked by the Covid-19
The choice of a hard Brexit, with in particular the establishment of customs barriers between the European Union and the United Kingdom, has also had a lasting effect on the country’s economy. According to a study by the Resolution Ffoundationreported by Euronews*, on “Brexit has made the UK less competitive and will make working people poorer in the next ten years”. Worse, Brexit “is a driver behind higher inflation” than in comparable countries, reported a study* by the Peterson Institute ofeconomy international published in May. “Even if the Covid-19 has been there, we are clearly seeing a worsening of the economic crisis across the Channel.emphasizes to franceinfo Claire Bréniaux, doctor in British civilization and professor at the University of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. We are still seeing food and labor shortages, an increase in poverty, there has been the heavy goods vehicle crisis…”
Nothing surprising, for Jonathan Portes, who considers that “Boris Johnson didn’t really have a strategy when it came to the economy”, apart from the promise to do “gaining a level” (“levelling up”*) to the disused territories of the country, which does not have “no results”. But the economic policy of the Johnson government has not only experienced failures: as proof, the response to the crisis induced by Covid-19 and the various confinements.
“Massive support has been put in place for companies and individuals, it has been a great success. Moreover, the United Kingdom has been much more European than American on this subject.”
Jonathan Portes, economist at King’s Collegeat franceinfo
Apart from these emergency measures, Boris Johnson’s management of the health crisis will have been “mixed”notes Claire Breniaux: “He was very criticized, especially at the beginning. But the pandemic has forced him to take more left-wing measures to support the health system. In the end, his record is not so bad, especially in terms of vaccinations , much higher than in France.” Overwhelmed by the crisis at its inception, the government then acted very quickly on the purchase of vaccines, by deploying the injection of AstraZeneca from the beginning of 2021.
Deep divisions with Europeans
Beyond his political action, Boris Johnson and his disheveled blond hair will probably go down in history for his blunders and his “outspoken”as it was called International mail. “He is an atypical personality, he felt above the rules”, comments Claire Bréniaux. As proof, the accumulation of cases, the best known being the “Partygate”, the organization of parties in Downing Street in full confinement.
“He has clearly tested the limits of what is and is not acceptable in British politics.”
Simon Usherwood, Professor of International Politicsat franceinfo
This iconoclastic style pleased, at least at first, the British: he had won the legislative elections hands down in 2019, while Theresa May had only a relative majority before him. The reason lies in Boris Johnson’s political philosophy, summed up in a nutshell by Jonathan Gates : the “cakism”. “His political line was to promise ‘to have a cake and eat it’ [en substance, ‘avoir le beurre et l’argent du beurre’]whether realistic or not.explains the researcher. This attitude, “boastful and clownish”according Clear Bréniauxbut also intransigent, has greatly deteriorated the relations of the European Union with the United Kingdom. The announcement of his resignation did little to move the governments of the 27 member countries.the French Minister of the French Economy Bruno Le Maire going so far as to declare that he “wouldn’t miss him”.
It must be said that Johnson, under pressure from the right wing of his party, has been an unreliable partner for Europe. “The relationship with the EU has been meticulously damagedemphasizes Simon Usherwood. Even after the agreement [sur le Brexit]he continued to blame the EU for everything and nothing, undermining all the confidence of Brussels and the Twenty-Seven“. He thus took part in the tensions between Paris and London over fishing quotas, or the uneasy climate surrounding the redefinition of the agreements on the status of Northern Ireland and the single market. It is only on the Ukrainian file that his relationship with the EU has not been strained. Quick and intractable in his denunciation of the Russian invasion and in the aid given to kyiv, Boris Johnson has established himself as a privileged ally of the president Zelensky. In July, residents of Odessa even regretted his departure.
“The war in Ukraine has helped European countries to remember that the UK can be useful. Cooperation with the EU on sanctions has been quite good.”
Simon Usherwood, Professor of International Politicsat franceinfo
A country increasingly torn apart
In terms of domestic politics, Boris Johnson leaves a country deeply divided. The dissensions between the British nations, and in particular between the United Kingdom and Scotland, have multiplied since 2019. “There is a very clear opposition between the two heads of government, in the style of governance but also in the practicehighlighted Clear Bréniaux. Moreover, Boris Johnson’s refusal to consider the possibility of organizing an independence referendum has really marked the divisions and made the separatists stronger.“ Result, the separatist Prime Minister Nicola sturgeon had a good time landing in “responsible leader” and is preparing to organize a referendum, for the moment unauthorized, in 2023.
If Boris Johnson’s attitude about the war in Ukraine is widely shared by his camp, the legacy he leaves to the Conservative Party is less unanimous. “He made it clear that his political ideology was far more right-wing than others in his party, especially when it came to immigration”, emphasizes Claire Bréniaux. Above all, it leaves open the question of Brexit, which continues to obsess the Conservatives. “The UK is mired in a self-centered drama over what to do after Brexitanalyzes Simon Usherwood. Two Prime Ministers broke their teeth on the subject.
If it wants to stay in power, the Conservative Party will have to reinvent itself. A gamble far from being won according to the researcher, who notes “lack of vision” of the Tories. “It certainly allowed them to win the last elections by a large margin, but since then the Conservatives have lost many local and partial elections and it is clear that the party is losing momentum”, emphasizes Claire Bréniaux. In power for twelve years, the Conservatives “will struggle to win the next election”even believes Jonathan Portes.
* All links followed by an asterisk point to content in English.