“I’ve so far resisted these comparisons, but now
Britain’s political crisis [i.e., Boris Johnson 'proroguing' Parliament for more than a month, in an unprecedented move to
short-circuit discussion of his 'no-deal' Brexit] really does resemble the
parallel crisis in the United States. A ruthless executive is pushing the outer
bounds of what is constitutionally possible in order to achieve unpopular
outcomes. A ruling party that is afraid for its own electoral future is shamefacedly
supporting him. A divided opposition seeks to block him but doesn’t have a
popular leader itself. A conservative party is using populist slogans that
undermine national institutions. Old precedents and customs are being abandoned
at great speed, leaving only a vacuum in their wake.”—Anne Applebaum, Washington Post, Aug. 29, 2019
There are even more parallels not mentioned by Ms.
Applebaum between Boris Johnson and Donald Trump:
*Both are tonsorially challenged clowns with neither
executive ability nor respect for truth, perpetrating breakdowns in their country’s essential legislative function.
*Both Trump and Johnson lead a base worried by deteriorating order and challenges to traditional values, despite these "populists" own extremely untidy
personal lives.
*Both came to power by emerging from the
socioeconomic flotsam of the 2007-09 Global Financial Crisis, exploiting the
fears of foreigners left in its wake.
*Both found their causes aided by trolls and bots
associated with Russia (yes, the British are investigating how Putin propaganda aided the Brexit campaign, according to this NPR interview with Jane Mayer; as for Trump, not one of the President’s
most raucous defenders can explain the extraordinary coincidence of Russia
releasing the Wikileaks files on Hillary Clinton less than 24 hours after The
Donald urged it to do so).
*Both are calling for stronger trade ties between
their countries, as a seeming counter-move against the Economic
Union (EU)--a strategy that plays into Putin's hopes of undermining economic and military alliances.
*Both the Trump and Brexit campaigns used Steve
Bannon as their scurvy strategist.
*Both leaders have created a ruckus over border
security: Trump, by squawking about a wall with Mexico (and even transferring
Defense Dept. money for other projects to try to speed its construction);
Johnson, by ignoring concerns that lack of a EU “backstop” would doom the
fragile tranquility prevailing in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday
Agreement two decades ago.
*Both have crashed through unwritten rules of law
and conduct that restrained predecessors in their countries’ highest office.
*Both have a penchant for insult: Johnson derided opposition
leader Jeremy Corbyn as “you great big girl's blouse," while Trump has
insulted someone on Twitter pretty close to every day.
*Both now pose a fundamental threat not just to the
economy and governance of their countries, but to the faith that other nations
place in the U.K. and U.S. as birthplaces of liberty.
So far, only one major difference exists in the
ascent to power of Trump and Johnson: In the latter’s first week in office, a
coalition of 21 Conservative Party Members of Parliament—including former
Cabinet ministers—allied with the opposition to force him to make a Brexit deal
or request another extension till early 2020. No such public, principled cohort
has emerged to restrain Trump.
Over the years, I have been critical of much British
governmental policy (including its misbegotten colonial legacy), but this week,
I have to tip my hat to a legislature that, unlike ours, has enough members who
refuse to be bullied into meekly abdicating their time-honored responsibilities.
(Photo of Boris Johnson taken as an MP, July 27,
2016.)
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