Boris Johnson Set to Take Over as PM

By Melinda Nagy @Shutterstock

Lara Prendergast of The American Conservative writes (abridged):

The mood changed in Britain as summer began. Theresa May resigned as prime minister at the end of May (quite fitting) and a leadership contest got underway. Two weeks ago, the contenders were whittled down to two: Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. […]

Brexit is boring. Leadership contests are fun. For the past few weeks, the national mood has felt giddier, more exuberant, a little silly. It helps that the Cricket World Cup is on and Wimbledon has just begun. The newspapers haven’t been filled with quite so many stories about “the Irish backstop” or the customs union, pieces of Brexit jargon that we have all had to resign ourselves to using. It’s been mostly “Bonking Boris.” […]

Of course, whoever makes it to Number

10 will only have a few weeks to find a way to take Britain out of the EU before October 31. Opinions differ as to what Boris Johnson should do if he becomes prime minister. One camp believes he should convince the EU that he is prepared to leave without a deal; the other hopes that he will go on a charm offensive and convince the EU to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement.

Soon the leadership race will be over, Britain will have a new prime minister, and we will have to return to using all that Brexit jargon. For now, the silliness continues.

Read the full article here.