Pro-Brexit champion Boris Johnson on Tuesday promised an exit from the European Union on October 31, after his overwhelming victory in the race at Downing Street, but it remains to be seen whether he will be able to secure the concessions he claims from Brussels.
The former mayor of London and former foreign minister, who was opposed to the current head of diplomacy Jeremy Hunt, won 66% of the votes of the 159,000 or so Conservative Party members who spoke.
Pro-Brexit champion Boris Johnson on Tuesday promised an exit from the European Union on October 31, after his overwhelming victory in the race at Downing Street, but it remains to be seen whether he will be able to secure the concessions he claims from Brussels. .
“We will implement Brexit on October 31″, the deadline after two postponements, he said after the announcement, without much surprise, that it would be he who would succeed the Prime Minister Theresa May . “We will take advantage of all the opportunities this will bring in a new positive spirit”.
The former mayor of London and former foreign minister, who was opposed to the current head of diplomacy Jeremy Hunt, won 66% of the votes of the 159,000 or so Conservative Party members who spoke.
He becomes head of the Tories and officially takes office as prime minister Wednesday afternoon after a visit to Queen Elizabeth II.
“It will be great,” enthused US President Donald Trump .
But if European leaders are ready to look again at the political declaration, which lays the groundwork for the future relationship between the UK and the EU after Brexit, they refuse to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement.
The result of 17 months of difficult discussions, this 585-page document sets out the conditions for divorce, in particular the controversial “backstop” to prevent the return of a physical border between Ireland and France. British province of Northern Ireland after Brexit.
– “Positive and enthusiastic” –
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated him and said they wanted to work with him as soon as possible, while the next President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke of “future challenges” . “We look forward to working constructively with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, ” responded Brexit Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier.
On the domestic front, Boris Johnson’s task promises to be as arduous with Parliament and people still deeply divided over their vision of Brexit, three years after the June 2016 referendum.
This is a mission on which Theresa May broke her teeth, failing three times to get MPs to accept the exit agreement she signed in November with Brussels, which pushed her to resign.
Boris Johnson’s willingness to leave the EU at any price hurts those, including his own side, who want to maintain close ties with the continent and fear the economic consequences of a “no deal”.
Finance Minister Philip Hammond warned that he would do “everything” to prevent this scenario, not seeming to exclude helping to bring down the future government of Boris Johnson.
As for the business community, they politely congratulated him, but especially demanded that he do everything to avoid a “no deal”.
After his victory, Boris Johnson spoke to conservative MPs and “everyone (came out) positive and enthusiastic,” Health Minister Matt Hancock reported. “The clouds have dissipated,” added a pro-Brexit MP.
But despite his victory, his personality divides . “Or it will be great, or it will be a disaster,” said Michelle Pearce, 64, and pro-Brexit, who regularly appears in front of Westminster Parliament.
“Boris Johnson got the support of less than 100,000 unelected Conservative Party members (…) but he did not get the support of our country,” Jeremy Corbyn, chief of Labor, the main political party, said on Twitter. opposition, which wants legislative elections.
In addition to the Brexit, Boris Johnson will have another urgent challenge to manage: the escalation of tensions with Tehran, the highest after the boarding on Friday by Iran of a tanker flying the British flag in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif congratulated him but warned: “We will protect the Gulf”.
