Where are you heading?” The “you” in this context is Britain. The question is one I hear over and again each time I venture beyond its shores. Much as the convulsions over Brexit have paralysed Westminster politics and poisoned the national discourse, they are cause for confusion and sorrow among friends and allies. How could such a sane, stable democracy so lose its way? I always struggle for an answer.
Boris Johnson takes a different view. Let’s get Brexit done, the prime minister booms. He has bet the bank — his own premiership anyway — on this glib general election slogan. All that’s required is that the voters back the deal he struck with the EU and, hey presto, the nation will be reborn. Goodbye craven fealty to Brussels, welcome Global Britain.
A charitable interpretation says this is simply plain nonsense. The one certain thing about the election is that, whatever the outcome, it will not settle Brexit. Mr Johnson’s so-called deal is no more than a jumping off point for years of wrangling about the future relationship between Britain and the EU. And it risks another “no-deal” cliff edge at the end of 2020.