Brexit eats its children
How is it possible that Britain, with its mature democracy and exemplary state functioning, should find itself in a political vortex? The question is whether Prime Minister Liz Truss was forced to resign on Thursday because she lost the confidence of her MPs after her government tabled the disastrous “mini-budget,” or because in our time it is exceptionally easy for a politician to become an unbearable burden on his or her colleagues? Was Boris Johnson driven to resign because of his erratic behavior and endless lies, or because his MPs saw their hopes of reelection threatened by the rising wave of popular anger?
Truss’ record-breaking short tenure was so destabilizing to the economy, to society and to her party, that this in itself would be sufficient for her exodus. The same applies to the character and behavior of Johnson, who had sawn away at the chair of his predecessor, Theresa May. But their colleagues knew all this when they elected them as leaders of the Conservative Party. The MPs’ concern peaked only when – in the inflammable political-media climate – they came face-to-face with the anger that their leaders provoked with their indifference to the consequences of their behavior. Johnson was elected by party members with his promise to “Get Brexit done,” without expressing any great concern as to how, and with what consequences. Theresa May, on the other hand, had tried to achieve a viable exit agreement. Truss was initially in favor of remaining in the EU. Yet she embraced Brexit in order to survive in the party and to be elected leader after Johnson resigned.
We are obliged to respect the result of the referendum which, by a slim margin, led to Brexit. But we must also weigh the fallout from this. Perhaps one day leaving the EU will turn out to have been the right thing to do. Today, though, aside from the economic cost, the political consequences of irresponsibility are clear: The irresponsibility with which the Conservatives succumbed to the fantasy that wishful thinking is enough for all to go well – even when your policy leads to a dead-end, even when candidates for the leadership appear incapable of handing such a difficult situation at such a dangerous time.
