Boris Johnson has a range of political skills, but international diplomacy is not among them. His greatest asset is a campaigning charisma with limited cultural range. The dishevelled look and irreverent bombast are an act aimed at a domestic audience. It translates poorly abroad. In the global arena, reluctance to look serious forfeits respect sooner than it wins affection.
That is one reason why Mr Johnson did not acquit himself well as foreign secretary in Theresa May’s government. Another was that he hates serving anyone but himself. As prime minister, he has not sharpened up his act, but he is at least free to pursue his own agenda. What does that mean in foreign policy terms? There is Brexit, of course. But that has been a parochial matter in UK politics – perversely so, given that the country’s orientation in the world is at stake. The domestic debate has consistently lacked global perspective. The remain side failed to communicate the cost of surrendering a seat at European summits. The view that EU membership amplified British power was drowned out by the rhetoric of regaining mythic sovereignty. » | Editorial | Monday, December 28, 2020
My opinion: As a one-time dyed-in-the-wool Conservative voter, I say this: Never again will I vote Tory! I wavered after the shabby way they treated Margaret Thatcher; but now, after this Brexit fiasco, NEVER AGAIN! It is to be hoped that the Tories go the way of the Whigs: into oblivion! Leaving the European Union has been a suicidal act. No self-respecting, economics-understanding, UK-loving voter could ever have voted for Brexit. Brexit has taken our rights as one-time European citizens away from us. And for what? Some spurious, nebulous concept of sovereignty – a concept most people probably don’t understand anyway. Make no mistake: the one-per-centers wanted Brexit because they will enrich themselves still further at our expense; the rest voted for Brexit out of ignorance because of the lies they were fed. But they have been fooled. The result: We, the people, have to put up with our European rights being taken away! Further, as a nation, we will be impoverished. – ©Mark Alexander
