Todd Bishop
On February 1, the British awakened and were no longer EU citizens. However, as the transitional period for Brexit officially ends on December 31 of this year, apart from the memory of the previous night or celebration or mourning of the Brexit commemorative event in the British today, it is difficult to see any changes in daily life .
At 11 pm on January 31, British time, at midnight in Brussels, Britain officially withdrew from the European Union. Two days ago, members of the European Parliament stood together to sing the Scottish choral song “Auld Lang Syne”, saying goodbye to Britain, which has joined the European Economic Community since 1973. On the day of Brexit, the British flags of the European Council and the European Parliament were removed one by one. These flags will continue to be collected by the European Union and will be hidden in a special warehouse where “foreign guests visit”. EU leader.
After the European Parliament deliberately waved the British flag and was deported from the party, Nigel Farage, returned to Britain to hold a grand celebration in the square of the House of Parliament, shouting: “After the war, we won, For the first time, the people have defeated the establishment. The real winner tonight is democracy. “
Although at this moment even the most solid Europeans know that Brexit is irreparable. As the leader of Brexit since 2016, after all, he is an Oxford elite who studied classical literature. Of course, at this moment, I think of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Questioning the direct democracy of the Brexit referendum, but secretly shocked: Will he become the British constitutional leader at this time, will he become the next target of British democracy?
The Prime Minister’s House is surprisingly low-key
As a result, Johnson did not attend any large-scale celebrations, allowing only Downing Street ’s 10th Prime Minister ’s House to project a countdown to Brexit. He himself only had a friendly dinner with the suspected European school official in Fuzhong, from dinner to wine and main course to dessert, which was also British food.
He did not follow the practice of the British Prime Minister. On the occasion of the major event, he stood outside the classic black door of the Prime Minister ’s House to speak to the people of the country, but chose to upload a video, facing the historic moment of Brexit with an extremely pragmatic but optimistic argument: “For many people, this is a surprise moment”, “However, many people also feel anxious and lost”, “I understand everyone’s mood, and our government work, my job is to unite the country and lead us “Go forward”, “This is not an end, but a beginning, a moment of dawn.”
Johnson, who had successfully seized the Brexit issue to enter the 10 Downing Street, now knows that this opportunity is hard to come by, and then manipulates politics by the split ideological war of “the people fight against the people.” In the end, it will only kill itself. Therefore, after Brexit was successful, Johnson wanted a new Britain with no doubt about Europe and pro-Europe, but with the British people as its unit.
This attitude change, of course, is also drawn from historical lessons: Since the decision to conduct a referendum for Brexit in 2015, countless British politicians have also devoted themselves to the battle over the issue of Brexit. In addition to Johnson, all of them have only won one moment of beauty. In exchange for a dismal ending.
Dead in the British politics in Brexit gamble
Johnson ’s Oxford classmate and former Prime Minister David Cameron led the Conservative Party to win a majority in Congress in 2015. He hoped that the results of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum would be repeated on the issue of Brexit. Pie mouth. Unexpectedly, in the 2016 referendum, the suspected Europeans won an astonishing victory. Cameron only traded in ruins, listening to the black door of the Prime Minister’s Office closed behind him.
Cameron’s successor, Theresa May, came on stage as a strong woman comparable to Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, touting with “strong and stable” leadership. Unexpectedly, the miscalculation of the 2017 general elections caused the Conservative Party to lose the majority in Congress, while the Brexit negotiations stalled, and finally its Brexit agreement encountered a historic defeat in Congress. A generation of strong women had to leave the scene with tears.
Leaders of the opposition parties have also been blamed for Brexit. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who focuses on the left-wing revolutionary political network, ignored the details of Brexit, and rushed to close to 20% of public opinion support within two months of the 2017 election. Dawn. However, after Brexit was in trouble, Haulbin did not have a clear Brexit stance, and eventually lost the “Red Wall” constituency in northern England in the December elections. This put the Labor Party in the biggest election defeat since 1935. The left-wing veteran had to step back.
As for the former leader of the Lib Dem, Jo Swinson, who had used the banner of abolishing Brexit before last year’s election was short-lived, but ended up losing even the National Assembly seats. Even Farage, who has been unswervingly fighting for Brexit for many years, under the strong pressure of Johnson, did not even dare to participate in the election in person, and is now only exiled to the edge of British politics.
Seeing the history of the defeat of these political opponents, Johnson remembered the wax-made wings made by his father in Greek mythology. He didn’t listen to Icarus who advised to fly near the sun. He certainly knew the consequences of “arrogance”, so as a response The winner of a Brexit gamble, he dare not neglect at the moment.
Victory in the English Clouds
What scared Johnson even more was that Britain’s road ahead after Brexit was still a mystery. If Britain does not reach a trade agreement with the European Union before the end of the transition period this year, the trade between the two sides will return to the basis of the World Trade Organization, and the threat of “no-deal Brexit” will be imminent again.
When EU leaders unanimously stated that Britain must follow EU rules, otherwise it would be difficult to avoid tariffs and restrictions on access to the EU market. Johnson, who is under pressure from suspected European “British custom rules” in the country, will face immediately after February 1 This new challenge. According to the Daily Telegraph, Johnson has ordered customs to prepare for a comprehensive inspection of EU goods in order to put pressure on the EU in advance for future negotiations.
Within Britain, the crisis of division in the United Kingdom is also approaching. First, Scotland has been formally forced to follow England’s departure from the European Union, and the Scottish National Party (SNP), which has won 48 seats in Scotland’s 59 House of Commons, has already announced that it will fight for an independent referendum. If the National Party wins again in the Scottish parliamentary elections next year, Johnson will have no reason to reject his request for a referendum.
In addition, Northern Ireland was actually included in the EU Single Market and Customs Union in the new Brexit agreement, resulting in “one country, two systems” with Great Britain. In addition to last year’s election, the number of seats in the party supporting the unification of Northern and Northern Ireland exceeded The United Kingdom’s unification, Northern Ireland’s departure from the United Kingdom is beginning to take shape.
Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland will hold general elections on February 8. The Sinn Fein party, which has always advocated for the unification of Ireland, is likely to be the third largest party and the only way for Ireland to avoid minority governments. Its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, has stated that the conditions for the party’s cooperation are precisely that the new government will immediately prepare for the Irish referendum. This will put more pressure on the Johnson administration.
There are many internal and external challenges, and Johnson still has to find a way to keep the traditional Labour iron vote that the Conservatives won in the hands of Labour last year. It can be seen that the challenge facing Johnson at this moment is probably hundreds of times more difficult than leading slogan-style political propaganda to leave the European Union.
On February 1st, when he woke up, Johnson realized that he had been outside the European Union, and the cloudy weather in England was still outside the window. He knew that the situation he had achieved with his own hands was definitely a rare victory, but this victory was shrouded in haze.
