Johnson has clearly chosen the N Ireland Protocol (that he designed) as prime vehicle for his Trumpian tactic of lying, ceaselessly & shamelessly, in order to con his way through high office & mask true nature of his government's actions. 3 main problems (well, for starters):
1) EU insists UK has legal duty to refrain from statements / actions incompatible with its own withdrawal agreement. Johnson's regular falsehoods about clear meaning / future application of NI Protocol amount to straightforward breach of UK's international legal commitments
2a) given Brexiters claim to be expert masters of international trade, they seem unable to grasp basic idea that mutual trust is central to success of cross-border economic relations. And mutual trust is not built on dishonourable conduct of sort Johnson elevates to an art-form
2b) realpolitik might let Trump lead the US as if it were a rogue state - though even the US pays a price. Yet exactly the same realpolitik will punish the UK for showing any comparable disdain for the rules-based international order upon which British interests actually depend
3) closer to home, Johnson's mendocracy erodes the basic values that underpin & legitimise the UK political order. All the more dangerous in a constitutional system that offers so few protections against the damaging, long term consequences of his reckless actions.
