Donald Trump and Boris Johnson have plenty in common. Both view politics more as a form of entertainment than public service or a battle of ideas; neither has much of a fixed ideology; both believe in the same kind of smashmouth negotiating style; neither has much regard for the truth; and both have a tremendous sense of self-worth. It is no wonder that Trump sees BoJo as a kindred spirit.
And yet, there are significant differences, too. BoJo is an experienced politician, not a businessman. He doesn’t treat the press as a public enemy, which makes sense, since his background is in journalism. He’s much more intelligent and well-informed than Trump–not that the bar is very high. Finally, and most importantly, BoJo will be operating under different constraints than Trump is, because the votes of a handful of Conservative activists do not represent any sort of mandate within the country.
My prediction? There will be a general election very shortly. The principal issue in the election will, of course, be Brexit. The Conservatives will run as a militantly pro-Brexit party; the anti-Brexit vote will be split between Labour and the Lib Dems as a result of Corbyn’s failure to embrace the second referendum; the Conservatives will consequently win big even though the anti-Brexit vote will be larger; and a no-deal Brexit will be the outcome, with disastrous results for the UK.