We all know the pattern: Trump creates a crisis; exacerbates it by taking extreme positions; then backs down when he gets resistance and claims a “victory” by putting a hold on the issue of his own making. The question for today is, could BoJo, who negotiates in a similar style, reverse course and sell his party and the country on something like the May deal?
It would be very difficult, for two reasons. First, Boris has done his best, and with considerable success, to persuade a majority of his party that the only acceptable outcome is no-deal. Second, Boris has no national mandate to just be Boris. He’s accountable to his party, and completely dependent on it. In addition to being an even more deft and experienced liar, Trump won a national election on his own, so he can reasonably claim that the electorate chose him to be whatever he chooses to be.
It’s not completely impossible, but don’t hold your breath.