Two weeks ago, the British Parliament dealt Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson a dramatic defeat. A coalition of opposition and 21 rebel Conservative Party Ministers of Parliament (MPs) voted to tie his hands in his negotiation with the European Union over Britain’s planned exit. By a 327-301 margin, Parliament voted to forbid the prime minister from taking Britain out of the European Union (EU) without an exit agreement. It also directed him to seek yet another extension in the time allowed to negotiate such a pact.
In response, Johnson has refused to seek an extension beyond the current Oct. 31 deadline, saying he “would rather die in a ditch.” Instead, he has called for an election to settle the issue. But now, with Labour Party MPs strategically abstaining, Parliament has refused to furnish the two-thirds majority vote needed to trigger an early election.
All this seems to have confronted Johnson with an intractable dilemma: He has a responsibility, arguably a legal responsibility, to deliver Brexit to the majority of the British electorate who voted to leave. But he cannot do so without, apparently, breaking the law. Nor will the Labour Party agree to an election to resolve this impasse.
Although these votes appear to have placed Johnson an impossible position, there is a way to accomplish Brexit and to force — and win — an election. To secure these goals, however, he must abandon any further attempts to secure an extension or an exit deal with the European Union. Instead, he should immediately offer the European Council of Ministers a different kind of deal, a free trade and mutual residency deal. If the council refuses to accept his offer, he should make clear he will allow the clock to run out and the United Kingdom to leave the EU on Oct. 31 — initially, at least, without a deal.
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See Also:
(1) Germany commits 100 bn euros for climate as protests heat up
(2) Boris Johnson to tell Merkel and Macron three ‘crucial’ points in last ditch Brexit bid
(3) Boris’ EU deal set to be worse than May’s -only Farage can deliver Brexit
(4) Queen urged to ‘screw protocol’ as monarch warned her reign to end in chaos
(5) No deal Brexit closer than ever as EU brands Boris Johnson’s proposals ‘unsatisfactory’
