Is Boris Johnson the first President of the United Kingdom?
In the wake of Brexit, the United Kingdom is chartering a risky and unfamiliar course in the world. The current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, has branded this his ‘Global Britain’ strategy, which involves a sharp pivot from Europe to East Asia, as China continues to build itself as the new global superpower. The regulatory detachment from the European Union that Brexit affords also allows the United Kingdom to get closer to the United States, a powerful and rich nation with deep cultural ties with the UK, albeit with profoundly different legal and political frameworks and business regulatory environments.
Let’s not forget that, in part, Brexit was also a bow shot from the working classes to the political and economic elites in the United Kingdom. Whilst attitudes in the United Kingdom are still largely favourable to the British monarchy, there is a sense that the shelf life of the British Royal family is beginning to look limited. Not least in part due to high profile accusations against the Royal family, such as Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s elopement to the United States, and their bombshell exposé interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, but also the on-going accusations of child abuse and complicity in sex trafficking against the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, by former associate of convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Virginia Giuffre.
Overall there seems to be a shift in the economic and political leadership in the UK, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson seems to embody a lot of those changes. In contrast to most politicians, Boris is comfortable courting controversy and speaking his mind. He is also found complaining about the personal aspects of his job, in contrast to previous PMs. Boris’ now famous makeover of his flat above №11 Downing Street may have caught the British public’s attention for the convoluted and potentially illegal routes for funding. However it’s the fact that Boris sees the need to refurbish the flat at all that should attract some attention. This coupled with the desire to refurbish the media room at №10 Downing Street to resemble less the PMs place of work, but more a Conservative party conference stage, also shows some indication of the norms that Boris is willing to stretch and break to feel comfortable in his role as leader of the United Kingdom.
But could it be that Boris, a man of wealth, privilege and immense power, is simply unsuited to the role of PM, and is in fact stretching the definition, role and look of the job to something closer to that of French President Emmanuel Macron? A man who wields enormous power in France. A man who is seemingly content making unpopular decisions at home and known for his sharp suits and cheeky demeanour at gatherings of the world’s political elites. A man who, after all, lives in a palace in central Paris no less — the Élysée Palace to be precise — and not an apartment in the City of Westminster, central London…
Not content with a domestic makeover, and new media room, Boris Johnson commissioned a paint job for his private plane. Once an uninspiring, somewhat sombre, military grey, the RAF Voyager now sports a British Airways styled Union Jack livery. And that’s not mentioning the plans for the replacement of the Royal Yacht Britannia, a boat aimed at promoting British trade and industry abroad, much in line with Boris Johnson’s Global Britain aspirations.
Could it be that Boris Johnsons’ tenure in no. 10 Downing Street is the first step in a movement towards forming a Republic of the United Kingdom? Something much closer to the United States in style, business regulation and legal structure? A country let’s not forget where Boris Johnson was born, and is dearly fond of, in part because of the United States’ cherished values of democracy and personal freedoms, but also because of his passion for innovation and entrepreneurial leadership styles and economic development.
Boris Johnson may have surrendered his US citizenship in 2016, a few years prior to taking the job as the Prime Minister of England and the United Kingdom, but perhaps his legacy will be one of profoundly shifting the United Kingdom’s course over the 21st century, in tandem with efforts from abroad to weaken the British Royal family and the strength and legitimacy of the British monarchy.
