Boris Johnson is holding himself hostage
CNNLondon CNN — When launching his bid to take over as the UK’s Prime Minister back in June, Boris Johnson said he wanted to do two things: get Brexit done and unite the country. Tony Abbott, the former Australian Prime Minister was applauded for calling the UK’s parliament “contemptible” and that it’s not “possible to be a remainer today if you also want to be a democrat.” Liam Fox, a former British Cabinet minister, told a room of delighted Euroskeptics that once Britain leaves the EU, “Germany will become the biggest ATM in history.” One audience member yelled back “they deserve it.” And when former minister Francis Maude reminded an audience that his signature could be found on the Maastricht treaty, which founded the European Union, they booed. “Their chief interest is to get Brexit done above everything else.” It’s certainly true that Johnson has attracted new party members who love his hard line on Brexit. The Conservative party’s hardest Euroskeptics are willing to support Johnson’s Brexit plan for now, but are at the absolute limit of what they will accept in terms of cooperating with Brussels.