LONDON — The bombastic new British prime minister, Boris Johnson, was never likely to offer an olive branch to the European Union that he promises to leave in less than 100 days — without any deal if necessary and whatever the cost.
But any faint hope that Mr. Johnson would adopt a conciliatory stance once installed in Downing Street was dispelled Wednesday night when he axed around half of the cabinet of his predecessor, Theresa May, in a cull that shocked many with its scope and blunt messaging.
In his first statement to Parliament on Thursday, Mr. Johnson doubled down on his hard line, fueling speculation that he was prepared to go to a general election if he is blocked by lawmakers from leaving the European Union without any agreement.
With staunch supporters of Brexit installed in key cabinet positions, Mr. Johnson outlined tough demands on Brexit that Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief negotiator, immediately described as “unacceptable.”
Those included the “abolition” of one central element of the withdrawal agreement — the so-called “backstop” plan to keep goods flowing freely across the Irish border — using language that leaves Mr. Johnson little room to maneuver. Preparations would be stepped up for a “no deal” exit, though Mr. Johnson promised that the rights of European Union citizens living in Britain would be protected.
All of that suggested that a new settlement was far off over the withdrawal plan — which has been rejected three times by the British Parliament, though lawmakers also oppose leaving without a deal.
After three years of flat parliamentary performances from Mrs. May, Mr. Johnson’s overblown oratory cheered his supporters, including his grandiose promises to usher in a “new golden age,” and to make the country the “greatest and most prosperous economy in Europe” by 2050.
But Brexit is his overriding task and he inherits a tiny working majority in Parliament. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the new leader of the House of Commons, told ITV that he did not see a general election as a government objective but that it was “impossible to rule out looking at the parliamentary arithmetic.”
Earlier, Mr. Johnson told the new cabinet that its task was momentous and came ‘‘at a pivotal moment in our country’s history.”
“We are now committed, all of us, to leaving the European Union on Oct. 31 or indeed earlier — no ifs, no buts,” he said.
Mr. Johnson made the same promise outside Downing Street on Wednesday, and he has insisted that all members of his cabinet are signed up to that objective, whether or not it means a no-deal exit that many see as damaging and potentially chaotic.
But the purge of the cabinet seemed to go further, dispensing even with some longtime supporters of Brexit in one of the most brutal reshuffles in recent memory.
Those sent packing included Penny Mordaunt, who lost her role as defense secretary; and Liam Fox, who had supported Mr. Johnson’s leadership rival, Jeremy Hunt, and was ditched as trade secretary.
Mr. Hunt, who had been foreign secretary, also left, after refusing a demotion. He was replaced by Dominic Raab, a hard-line former Brexit secretary who resigned in November in protest at Mrs. May’s proposed withdrawal agreement.
“The hard right has taken over the Conservative Party. Thatcherites, libertarians and No Deal Brexiters control it top to bottom,” wrote Nick Boles, a lawmaker who recently left the Conservative Party, on Twitter.
Mr. Johnson’s reshuffle seemed intended to send a clear message to the European Union that his government meant what it said when it insisted that it would quit without any agreement if necessary. Optimists hope that this show of resolve might persuade the European side to offer the sort of concessions it has so far refused to contemplate.
Those hopes depend on the European Union agreeing to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement worked out with Mrs. May — which contains the Irish “backstop” — and there has been no sign of that so far.
On Thursday, a spokesman for the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said, “We will not reopen the withdrawal agreement.”
That suggests that a rocky few months are looming. The makeup of Mr. Johnson’s new cabinet suggests a team battle-ready for a general election if the prime minister is blocked by Parliament from leaving the European Union without a deal.
The new cabinet also looked to be assembled to combat an electoral threat from Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit Party, which advocates a total break from the European Union.
Sajid Javid was among the big winners in Mr. Johnson’s reshuffle. Mr. Javid, whose father, a bus driver, was an immigrant from Pakistan, took charge of the country’s finances as chancellor of the Exchequer. Though a skeptic about the European Union he campaigned against Brexit in the 2016 referendum but is now a convert.
Mr. Javid’s old job as home secretary was taken by the Brexit supporter Priti Patel, who resigned as international development secretary in Mrs. May’s government in November 2017 because she had held meetings with officials in Israel without informing cabinet colleagues.
Some lawmakers who have been less enthusiastic about Brexit survived, including Amber Rudd, the work and pensions secretary. And there was a reprieve for Gavin Williamson, who was blamed for leaking information while secretary of state for defense (a charge he denied) and was subsequently fired by Mrs. May. He returned as education secretary.
But Brexit supporters are in the driver’s seat. Michael Gove, who, together with Mr. Johnson, led the pro-Brexit referendum campaign in 2016, will be in charge of preparations for a no-deal exit.
In addition to the promotion for Mr. Rees-Mogg, who led the most hard-line group of Conservative lawmakers pushing for the European Union withdrawal, Stephen Barclay remained as Brexit secretary.
Perhaps nothing illustrated Mr. Johnson’s desire to shake up the system as much as his decision to bring Dominic Cummings into Downing Street as an adviser. Mr. Cummings is the divisive strategist who helped plan the official Leave campaign’s tactics in the 2016 referendum.
Famously sharp-tongued, Mr. Cummings has described Mrs. May’s pursuit of Brexit as a “train wreck,” and called a former Brexit secretary, David Davis, “thick as mince and lazy as a toad.”
After three years during which Mrs. May tried to balance the diversity of opinion on Brexit among Conservatives, juggling hard-liners and those determined to stop a “no deal” withdrawal, Mr. Johnson’s change in tack horrified some in the party.
By ejecting so many of Mrs. May’s team, Mr. Johnson has freed many to oppose a no-deal exit.
That has increased speculation about a general election, possibly as soon as the fall. There is also growing talk of a second referendum, fueled in part by statements from Mr. Cummings that the outcome of any repeat would mirror the first vote and reinforce the decision to leave.
Asked on Sky News what he thought about the new government, Nicholas Soames, a veteran Conservative lawmaker and grandson of one of Mr. Johnson’s heroes, Winston Churchill, replied, “Not a lot.”
“I won’t support a no-deal Brexit and nor will a very large number of people on my side in the House of Commons,” Mr. Soames said. “By firing a lot of very good senior cabinet ministers yesterday, he has created a whole wall of opposition.”
Source : Nytimes
