Great Britain’s next leader
Pro-Brexit Johnson wins party’s contest to lead government
Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrives at Conservative Party headquarters Tuesday in London, where he was selected to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May. He will take office at a critical moment with the promise to complete Britain’s exit from the European Union by the Oct. 31 deadline, “do or die.”
LONDON — Boris Johnson, Britain’s former foreign secretary, on Tuesday won the contest to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May.
Johnson beat Jeremy Hunt, his successor as foreign secretary, in the battle for the leadership of Britain’s governing Conservative Party, winning 66% of the postal vote held among its membership. Although the Conservatives’ working majority in Parliament is very small, it appears to be enough to ensure that Johnson will succeed May as prime minister today.
He will take office at one of the most critical moments in Britain’s recent history, immediately facing the toughest challenge of his career, to manage his nation’s exit from the European Union in little more than three months.
“I know that there will be people around the place who will question the wisdom of your decision, and there may even be some people here who still wonder quite what they have done,” Johnson told the party meeting in London on Tuesday at which the vote results were announced.
Johnson has doubled down lately on Brexit, promising to take Britain out of the European Union by the Oct. 31 deadline “do or die,” if necessary risking the economic dislocation of leaving without any agreement, rather than seek an extension.
“We’re going to get Brexit done on Oct. 31, we’re going to take advantage of all the opportunities that it will bring in a new spirit of can-do, and we’re once again going to believe in ourselves,” he said Tuesday. “Like some slumbering giant, we’re going to rise and ping off the guy-ropes of doubt and negativity.”
May and Johnson will visit Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace today for her assent to the transition.
President Donald Trump tweeted congratulations to Johnson on Tuesday, adding, “He will be great!”
The focus soon will shift to the makeup of Johnson’s Cabinet and what clues that provides for whether he will pursue his hard line on Brexit once in power or try to seek a deal with the European Union.
Parliament rejected May’s exit plan three times this year, yet it is also firmly against risking severe disruption and huge economic damage by leaving without any agreement at all.
Turbulence over Brexit has even raised questions about the durability of the United Kingdom itself, prompting renewed talk about possible Scottish independence and a united Ireland. Writing on Twitter, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, congratulated Johnson but said that “it would be hypocritical not to be frank about the profound concerns I have at the prospect of his premiership.”
Johnson has said that a renegotiated Brexit settlement with the European Union would be the optimal outcome, though it is hard to envision how one could be hammered out and, given the looming summer vacation, approved in Parliament by the end of October. And there is no sign that the European Union is willing to contemplate the wholesale changes that Johnson has promised his supporters.
The reaction from European officials Tuesday was muted.
“In my experience, whenever there is a new prime minister in any member state or country, he or she will be welcomed as a colleague by their colleagues and they’ll try to sort it out,” Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European Commission, said in Brussels. “I don’t think his character, persona or attitude makes any difference in that sense.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, offered his congratulations to Johnson on Tuesday, but he also warned the leader-in-waiting that Tehran would protect itself.
The comments came four days after Iran seized a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway linking the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The episode has further ratcheted up tensions between Tehran and the West and revealed the extent to which Britain is directly involved in the conflict.
“Iran does not seek confrontation,” Zarif wrote in a post on Twitter. “But we have 1500 miles of Persian Gulf coastline. These are our waters & we will protect them.”
Britain angered Iran this month when its navy seized an Iranian vessel near Gibraltar alleging it could be in violation of a European Union embargo on the sale of oil to Syria. The move drew warnings of retaliation from Iran, even after British officials tried to calm the situation, that were soon realized.
“It’s important for everybody to realize, it’s important for Boris Johnson to understand, that Iran does not seek confrontation,” Zarif said.