ON STANDARD considerations, it could be said safely that nobody would envy the job Mr. Boris Johnson of the British Conservative Party has garnered -- the prime ministership -- at such a crucial twist on the road ahead. But realising how History and Destiny often treat their candidates at critical junctures, it can also be said safely that Mr. Johnson could be the man of the moment -- to help Britain wriggle out of the terrible Brexit tangle. And who knows except Destiny, Mr. Johnson may be able to lead Britain back to reckoning not just in the European theatre but also the whole of the world. He may eventually prove to be a man of the moment for Britain that had seen the bottomline rising menacingly in the past quarter of a century. Every leader in a tight spot must say what Mr. Boris Johnson has said -- “At this pivotal point in history ... I know that we will do it.
The mantra is deliver Brexit, unite the country ... I will work to repay your confidence. The work begins now. ...”. But from behind those words peeps out certain strong possibility that a tired Britain would be eager enough to iron out things so that normalcy sets back in. Outgoing premier Mrs. Theresa May brought the discourse to a point and now Mr. Johnson would take over the leadership, offering change as well as continuity -- in policy and its implementation. Britain, though, may bristle for a while more with protests and propositions but ultimately accept the Brexit deal with a sprinkling of changes. Britain may opt out of European Union formally, but retain non-formal economic and cultural links so that damage in various terms is kept to the minimum.
If things would be tough for Britain, they would equally be so for Europe and the Union. As Britain negotiates its passage through these rough times, Mr. Johnson may be the man it had been waiting for. However, what is actually impeding the journey at this twist is the philosophical cacophony and political acrimony that surrounded the point of decision whether to exit or stay on. The country floundering on the verge of unprecedented confusion opted for the referendum route and then wanted to back out. What was on trial was Britain’s basic faith in democratic means to make crucial decisions. Nothing had tested Britain so harshly as this point did in the last one hundred years since the conclusion of World War I.
Emergence of Mr. Boris Johnson at this point from the Conservative churning may have a talismanic importance in Britain’s public discourse that once threatened to tear the country asunder. This is not building too much of a probably misleading sense of hope in the development; this may be an idea based on expectation and experience that human community often finds a way out from any tangle after a reasonable trauma has pulled it in different directions. No matter the politically-driven responses of different countries to Britain’s current trauma, the ascendence of Mr. Boris Johnson may present an opportunity of course-correction on sound lines so that Europe and the world are not disturbed beyond this point.
Historically, Britain has often been positioned at a crucial point in global scheme of things all along. The trouble in the British Isles, therefore, has often alerted the world to sit up and take notice. In the Brexit controversy, what was involved, therefore, was not just Britain’s narrow interests, but also larger economic interests of the continent and the world. For too long a stretch of time has Britain endured the current trauma. It is now crying for a way out, which may come in the form of Mr. Boris Johnson’s emergence as Prime Minister. The development may not be a perfect or final answer to many issues that dog Britain and Europe, but it certainly holds a reasonable promise that things may start getting sorted out sooner than later.