This is a translation of: http://www.cicero.de/berliner-republik/boris-johnsons-verrat-david-cameron-blonde-bombe/60533
London’s mayor Boris Johnson campaigns for Brexit – and to become Prime Minister should the incumbent David Cameron fail to keep Great Britain in the European Union.
“Tuck your shirt in, Boris!” shouted a back bencher before Boris Johnson even started speaking. The House of Commons saw a fierce EU debate on Monday afternoon. Prime Minister David Cameron tried hard to answer questions of MPs about EU reforms he negotiated in Brussels on the weekend. Curiously, most of his critics sat on his side of the benches. Most prominent among them: the clumsy and immensely popular mayor of London. “How exactly will this deal return sovereignty over law making back to Britain?”, Boris Johnson asked sheepishly. “We got power over benefits back”, explained David Cameron. The 51-year old EU skeptic shook his mop of fair hair and smirked.
Boris Johnson enjoys his political life more than ever. When David Cameron returned victoriously from Brussels and presented cabinet and people with his reform package, Johnson had his moment of truth. Although Cameron had gotten most of what he had asked for, his old friend and rival decided to come out against the deal. Cameron will campaign for Britain to vote for a “Bre-Main” at the EU referendum on June 23. Johnson will throw his weight behind a “Brexit”. He informed the Prime minister per text message about his decision on Sunday afternoon and nine minutes later stepped out of his house to speak to the press: “I want a better deal for the people in the country.”
Since the “blonde bombshell” (The Sun) exploded the campaign has kicked off before it officially started. So far the country is more or less equally divided in friends and foes of the EU with about 14 percent undecided Brits. Does Boris Johnson really care that much about the European Union to sacrifice his relationship with his old friend whom he knows since their time at elite schools Eaton and Oxford? Many doubt that. Cameron has made clear that he will not seek a third term as head of government. His successor in waiting is chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne. If Cameron wins the EU referendum Osborne is good to go. Except if the Labour party wins the next elections, which is highly unlikely given the fact that its leader Jeremy Corbyn seems un-electable for the political center.
Boris Johnson on the other hand will finish his term as mayor on May 5th. He needs a new job. Cameron offered him the foreign or defense ministry in order to keep him in line of the pro-European campaign. But the enfant terrible of the Tory party calculated cunningly: As new minister he would not have enough time to shape out his profile as possible Prime minister. Especially as home secretary Theresa May, the only woman among the serious candidates to succeed Cameron, has already promised to support the Prime minister in his pro-European campaign and keep her severely EU-skeptic views to herself. The only part Boris Johnson can play now lucratively is: rebel. If Britain votes to leave in June, Cameron has to resign. “BoJo” as his fans like to call the twitchy mayor would only be too happy to step up to replace him.
“BoJo brings us mojo”, said the only MP of the anti-EU party UKIP, Douglas Carswell. Johnson alone counts more than the six cabinet ministers who defied the Prime minister and spoke out for Brexit. Even justice minister Michael Gove does not have the weight Boris Johnson can throw on the political scales. The former journalist was Brussels correspondent of the conservative “Daily Telegraph” from 1989 to 1994. It has hardened his resolve against the EU institutions although his critics recount incidents when he rather carelessly traded facts against anti-EU jokes with a good punch line.
Even the markets take Boris Johnson seriously. The pound dropped two percentage points after Johnson announced he would join the Brexit campaign. David Cameron seemed to speak to Johnson in the House of Commons without mentioning his name: “My political career is over, I will not seek a third term”, the Prime minister said: “My only concern is for the well being of the people.” His rival only came to parliament in May 2015 as representative of the West London city of Uxbridge. Cameron organized him a seat to prepare him for a ministerial post and keep him close. Since their days in Oxford, when they practiced binge drinking in the elitist Bullington Club they are friends and rivals. Cameron, two years younger than Johnson, reached the top before him. Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson seems not to know loyalty and pays back with treason.
BoJo turns into BoGO as John Crace mocks him in “The Guardian”: “If only he had just been able to stand up and say ‘Vote me for prime minister’ and have done with it, rather than pretending to give much of a toss about whether Britain stayed in the EU.” Johnson takes the biggest risk of his career: If the Brits vote to leave the EU, he will probably be Prime minister. The pro-European commentator Hugo Dixon of InFacts calls Johnson “one of my oldest and closest friends”. But he writes: “If Boris continues to downplay the risks of Brexit, victory could be his worst nightmare. He would then have to negotiate our exit terms and preside over what could be a potentially traumatic divorce.”
The – then former – European partners would give Britain a hard time to re-negotiate their future relationship with the Common market. Their Brexit deal would be closely watched by other member states and possibly become a blueprint for future leavers. The European Union is in its deepest crisis as it is due to huge numbers of refugees coming to its borders and a common currency suffering from too diverse economies with too little instruments to balance the differences out. If Britain votes for Brexit and Boris Johnson becomes Cameron’s successor, he will have to negotiate this deal. He might live to rue his own victory.