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LONDON — Boris Johnson, an ardent supporter of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, was poised to take over as prime minister from Theresa May and select a new cabinet on Wednesday, a day after his easy victory in a Conservative Party leadership vote.
Mr. Johnson, a former foreign secretary and two-term mayor of London, is a polarizing figure, known for over-the-top displays and a charismatic bluster that have connected with many voters but alienated others.
Mr. Johnson was among the most high-profile backers of Brexit, as the withdrawal process is commonly known, and on Tuesday he made clear that he would push for Britain to leave by the deadline of Oct. 31 even if there were no deal in place.
He has described Britain’s departure as a matter of “do or die,” but opponents of a no-deal departure — who include a majority of Parliament and some members of his own party — have warned that it could have ruinous effects on the British economy, and lead to shortages of food and medicine.
Mrs. May walked out of 10 Downing Street, as throngs of reporters waited outside, just after 11 a.m. local time and traveled to Parliament for a final round of questions from legislators. Mrs. May, who congratulated Mr. Johnson on Tuesday afternoon, will return to the official residence at 10 Downing Street later in the day to say goodbye to the staff there and make a short, final statement to the nation as leader.
In a short address to lawmakers, Mrs. May said she would continue to serve as a member of Parliament, and was pleased to hand over the government to Mr. Johnson.
But after some pleasantries, she launched into a raucous back and forth with the opposition in which she was questioned about Mr. Johnson’s fitness as a leader.
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, applauded her service before adding that he hoped Mrs. May would be involved in “helping me to oppose the reckless plans of her successor.”
Later in the day, Mrs. May and Mr. Johnson will each visit Buckingham Palace to meet with Queen Elizabeth II and receive her formal assent to the transition. Mrs. May will officially tender her resignation, and Mr. Johnson will be invited by the queen to form a new government.
Mr. Johnson, who will be the 14th British prime minister to serve during the queen’s reign, is expected to make his first speech outside 10 Downing Street before entering the residence for the first time. He is also expected to begin announcing members of his cabinet.
Dominic Cummings, a director of the “Vote Leave” campaign ahead of the 2016 referendum on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, is expected to become a senior adviser to Mr. Johnson, according to the BBC.
While his appointment would be likely to be applauded by hard-line supporters of Brexit, his role in that campaign’s ruthlessly successful strategy has made him a controversial and sometimes mythologized figure.
[Read more on Boris Johnson’s chaotic personal life.]
A handful of Conservatives who served in the previous government have resigned already, signaling they had no intention of serving under Mr. Johnson’s leadership.
Alan Duncan, the second-ranking official in the foreign office, resigned on Monday, while Anne Milton, an education minister, announced her resignation on Tuesday shortly before Mr. Johnson’s victory in the party leadership race was announced. Philip Hammond, the chancellor of the Exchequer, resigned on Thursday.
Other prominent figures, including David Gauke, the justice secretary, and Rory Stewart, the international development secretary, have said that they would not serve in a government led by Mr. Johnson because of concerns about his willingness to leave the European Union without a deal.
Mr. Johnson won 66 percent of the votes cast by registered party members, defeating Jeremy Hunt, his rival for the Conservative leadership and his successor as foreign secretary, by a comfortable margin.
But he will face deep challenges as he takes the helm, with Brexit looming large and tensions with Iran bubbling into a potential crisis. He also faces other problems: His Conservative Party does not have an outright majority in Parliament, and although he was elected overwhelmingly in a postal vote by dues-paying members of the party, they represented just a tiny fraction of overall British voters, so the extent of his mandate is unclear.
Nigel Farage — the populist leader of the Brexit Party, which outperformed the Conservatives in European Parliament elections in May — has said he would be open to the idea of an electoral pact between his party and the Conservatives. Mr. Johnson would have to call a general election to prevent Parliament from blocking a no-deal Brexit, he has argued, and would need such an agreement to avoid splitting the pro-Brexit vote.
In an interview at the Trump International Hotel on Tuesday evening, Mr. Farage challenged Mr. Johnson to hold a general election. He was in Washington attending a conference for conservative teenagers.
“My contention is the only way Brexit gets done by the 31st of October is if we get a brave Boris and he calls a general election,” Mr. Farage said. “That’s the only way I think this can really happen. If he calls an election, he unavoidably has to deal with me in some way.”
He added: “If he really wants to do it, I’ll help him. I could be his best friend or his worst enemy.”
During a brief speech to members of his party after the results were announced on Tuesday, Mr. Johnson, who quit Mrs. May’s cabinet because of objections to her Brexit policy, vowed that Britain would leave the European Union by the current autumn deadline.
“We’re going to get Brexit done on Oct. 31,” he said. “We’re going to take advantage of all the opportunities that it will bring in a new spirit of can-do, and we’re once again going to believe in ourselves.”
Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, when asked on Wednesday about his thoughts on Mr. Johnson, said he looked forward to hearing the new prime minister’s plans for Britain’s exit from the bloc.
“Is it an orderly Brexit? That is the choice, the preference of the E.U., and we worked for an orderly Brexit all along the last two years,” he said. “Is it a no-deal Brexit? The no-deal Brexit will never be the choice of the E.U. but we are prepared.”
Tensions in the Persian Gulf will also demand attention. Last week, Iran announced it had seized a British tanker in the Persian Gulf, raising the stakes in a simmering conflict with the West. Earlier this month, the British Navy seized an Iranian vessel near Gibraltar on suspicion of violating a European Union embargo on the sale of oil to Syria.
Katie Rogers contributed reporting from Washington.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/world/europe/britain-johnson-may-prime-minister.html
2019-07-24 12:28:16Z
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