,
7 tweets,
1 min read
Read on Twitter
I’m getting a bit tired of this “charisma” thing as the answer as to why Johnson will get a better deal from the EU than May. The reason May didn’t get a better deal isn’t because of charisma. It’s because Britain is in a fundamentally weaker negotiating position than they are.
Indeed, given the EU are palpably less impressed by Johnson’s Brideshead routine than many here are, there is every reason to believe they will be even less inclined to give him anything new than they were with May.
Moreover I can’t help but read all this “charisma” thing as a code for masculinity and a subtle dig at May not being “macho” enough, as Johnson himself has alluded to with his depiction of how Trump would handle the negotiations.
Ie it’s more than a little bit sexist.
A more valid critique of May wasn’t a deficit of negotiating skill but rather a lack of political prowess in getting the deal through the Commons. However, given Labour MPs dislike Johnson even more than May, the idea his “charisma” will win through there is likewise fantastical.
No candidate has yet dealt with the fundamental problem at the heart of the Brexit quagmire. If you want regulatory divergence across the whole of the UK you have to have a border in Ireland. If you don’t want a border you can’t.The only immediately possible Brexit is a soft one.
And no amount of “charisma” is going to change that.
