Boris Johnson: on the verge of taking things too far

For a moment, it looked as if Boris Johnson would turn into a copy of Donald Trump after all. That was the day when his ministers not only resigned in in drovesreihenweisedroves, but also tried to convince their boss in direct talks that his cause was lost and that he had to go. The British prime minister to balksich sperrenbalked, to invoke sth.sich auf etw. berufeninvoking the mandate of his commandinghier: überlegencommanding 2019 election victory and declaring that he wanted to to tough it out (ifml.)etw. durchhaltentough it out. There was speculation that Johnson could persuade the Queen to to dissolveauflösendissolve Parliament and call a new election. Disconnected from reality, interested only in his own political survival, careless in his handling of the constitution – this indeed brought back memories of the former US president in his to rampagerandalierenrampaging late phase.

Many of his party colleagues want to see Boris Johnson removed from 10 Downing Street

But as it turned out, the Trumpist escalation did not happen after all. Boris Johnson announced his resignationRücktrittresignation from the posts of Conservative Party leader and prime minister. The situation has by no meanskeineswegsby no means been fully resolved. For one thing, the head of government wants to continue to run things until a successorNachfolger(in)successor is elected and to appoint sb.jmdn. ernennenappointed. Many of his party colleagues do not want that. Whatever happens, they will do their best to speed up the selection of candidates for the premiership. Firstly, because the United Kingdom, in the middle of an inflation crisis and while war is being to wage warKrieg führenwaged in Europe, needs a government that is fully capable of actionhandlungsfähigcapable of action. But also because they no longer trust Boris Johnson and want to see him removed from 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residencehier: Amtssitzresidence, as soon as possible.

The prime minister needs his party – and the party distrusts Johnson

One of the reasons that a destructive grand drama à la Trump has not taken place has to do with the nature and workings of the British state. This is not a presidential but a parliamentary democracy; the House of Commons is virtuallypraktischvirtually all-powerful. The prime minister has no direct mandate from the people; rather, he owes his power to the support of his party and its MP (member of Parliament)Abgeordnete(r)MPs. Unless he has the continued principledprinzipiellprincipled consentZustimmungconsent of his followers in Parliament, the premier cannot govern. Populism can still be a promising strategy for winning votes under such circumstances; but a complete personalization of political power, as Trump attempted for a while, is to be out of the questionausgeschlossen seinout of the question in the United Kingdom and not even worth trying.

What about Boris Johnson himself? Was it just the political system, in its inexorableunerbittlichinexorable logic, that kept him from spirallinghier: Abdriftenspiralling into lunacyWahnsinn, Irrwitzlunacy and forced him back down to earth? Or did he himself possess enough sense to face the unevitableunausweichlichinevitable, however hard it may have been for him?

Creating a victim myth

The brief speech with which Johnson announced his departure in front of the familiar black door of his official residence left an ambivalentzwiespältigambivalent impression. There were phrases that sounded resentfulunversöhnlichresentful and accusatoryanklagend, vorwurfsvollaccusatory, such as when the outgoing PM (prime minister)Premierminister(in)PM called the idea of a change in leadership – in spite of a comfortable parliamentary majority – “eccentric” and said of the mountingwachsend, zunehmendmounting criticism of him from London government circles, “But as we’ve seen in Westminster, the herd instinct is powerful, and when the herd moves, it moves.” These were remarks on which he could base a dubiouszweifelhaftdubious political victim myth: the people’s tribune and maverickEinzelgänger(in), Einzelkämpfer(in)maverick brought down by a nit-pickingkleinlichnit-picking establishment of political lightweight (ifml.)Dünnbrettbohrerlightweights.

The failed prime minister can help decide how the nation will remember him

But there were also passages which indicated that Johnson had palpablemerklich, spürbarpalpably regained his inner freedom – for example, in his cheekyfrechcheeky praise of the “Darwinian” selection process by which the Conservative Party was sure to appoint an outstanding new leader, or in his open, honest acknowledgement that he considered the loss of the premiership “painful”. In such turns of phrase, out of the power morassMorastmorass of recent days to resurfacewieder auftauchen, wieder an die Oberfläche kommenresurfaced something of Boris Johnson’s qualities, of his wit and generosityGroßzügigkeitgenerosity. Depending on how he acts in the coming days and weeks, the failed prime minister himself can help decide how bitterly or forgivinglyversöhnlichforgivingly the nation will remember him.