OPINION:
July 24 marked the first anniversary of Boris Johnson’s taking office. The year makes an Indiana Jones film seem like watching paint dry. It’s seen Prime Minister Johnson unite the country behind him, deliver Brexit, get divorced, acquire and vanquish COVID-19 (nearly expiring in the process), have a son, face great pushback on his China policy, promise the U.K. a “New Deal,” etc., etc. It is gross understatement to say that his dance card has been full.
Like President Trump, scaling policy mountains and pushing his nation toward further greatness and autonomy, Mr. Johnson has nevertheless been met with venom and scorn from his opponents. The prime minister will forever be credited with facing down the naysayers to tackle what was deemed impossible — namely accomplishing Brexit. His determination paid off in spades, earning his Tory party a commanding majority. This mandate should have set up his premiership to be a golden age. Cruelly, however, Britain, like every country, has had to contend with COVID-19 — and China.
The dizzying, breathless events of Mr. Johnson’s maiden year could have filled a whole lifetime for many mere mortals.
Exactly one year ago, Mr. Johnson won the Tory leadership, and, as is the custom, the queen invited him the next day to form her government. Seventeen largely anti-Brexit ministers were ejected to clear the deck for his grand plans. In August, Mr. Johnson asked the queen to prorogue (suspend) Parliament. While a not-uncommon procedural device, Mr. Johnson used this occasion to frustrate anti-Brexit MPs in their campaign to block efforts to leave the European Union (EU).
To the same end, in September Mr. Johnson threw out an additional 21 Brexit-thwarting MPs from the Tory party. In October, he secured a vote to hold the general election that returned him to power in December, with a landslide majority of 80 seats. The winning slogan, “Get Brexit Done,” carried the day with an electorate weary of Brexit stagnation, and stood out conspicuously against the unpatriotic, anti-Semitic, leftist negativity of his opponent, Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr. Johnson overcame predecessor Theresa May’s unsuccessful legacy, fulfilling the wishes of the British people. Britain officially departed the European Union on Jan. 31, 2020.
With the country’s divorce sorted, Mr. Johnson finalized his own divorce from Marina Wheeler in February, immediately announcing his engagement to Carrie Symonds as well as her pregnancy. In March, COVID-19 gripped the world, including the U.K.. Mr. Johnson urged anyone with symptoms to self-isolate.
At the end of March, he followed his own advice. On April 6, gravely ill, he was hospitalized in intensive care. After a few tense days, he was moved to a general ward. Only weeks later, son Wilfred was born. After a terrible toll, Britain experienced its virus peak in May, and plans to end lockdown were rolled out at the end of that month.
The pandemic put the spotlight on China’s behavior in no uncertain terms. This was the needed catalyst for members of the governing Tory party to reassess and consider a reset of the U.K.’s relationship with China. Moreover, it swayed opinion closer to the Trump administration’s arguments and security concerns, convincing Mr. Johnson to reconsider prior plans to involve the Huawei Chinese telecom in the buildout of Britain’s 5G.
Not least in light of China’s repressive breach of the 1984 Hong Kong handover agreement negotiated by Margaret Thatcher, a further hardening of the U.K.’s stance now is emerging: China vows retaliation.
The Brexit saga has a bit of a hangover. Still in a transition period, while the U.K. is officially out of the EU, it is in the process of negotiating a final U.K.-EU trading relationship to come into force in January. Unwilling to grasp the new reality, the EU persists in doing all it can to confine the U.K. to vassal status. Negotiations continue. At the very same time, Washington and London are carrying on their own free trade negotiations, which have not been all smooth sailing.
It is staggering to contemplate that Prime Minister Johnson, a man who just barely escaped death, has hardly had a moment to catch his breath in this maelstrom. If he could have seen his future, one wonders if he would have hesitated to throw his hat into the ring in the first place.
Brexit seemed the insurmountable challenge. Having slain that dragon relatively easily, it is cold irony that the prime minister known for his bright optimism has been bombarded by other wholly unforeseen serious challenges. One thing, however, is quite obvious: Boris Johnson has clearly taken on board the advice of his great hero, Winston Churchill: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” After this momentous first year, dare one even wonder what the next will bring?
• Lee Cohen, a fellow of the Danube Institute and a specialist on the U.S-U.K. relationship, for years advised the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and founded the Congressional United Kingdom Caucus. He tweets at @leesco3.
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