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By Frank McKenna

By Frank McKenna

The 51st State

This week Frank Mckenna reflects on the similarities of political tastes in the UK and the US and Boris Johnson launches a Trumpian-style defence of himself and his government.

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”2/3″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]The behaviour of Boris Johnson in parliament on Wednesday was nothing short of a disgrace. He has morphed into Donald Trump and the language he is resorting to inside and outside Westminster is both sinister and dangerous.

Worse though, in the short term at least, it appears that the Brexit debacle has resulted in a good number of the great British public losing their moral compass, with many of them not just defending Johnson but actively supporting and egging him on.

Indeed, his parliamentary colleagues, far from being embarrassed by his reckless rhetoric, were applauding and cheering during another depressing evening of non-debate in the House of Commons.

Polls suggest that when the General Election finally takes place, Johnson has a reasonable chance of winning it. Labour’s conference this week will have gone some way in helping him in that respect, with the failed political assassination of its Deputy Leader Tom Watson, a policy on Brexit that a Philadelphia lawyer would find hard to understand and a series of policy announcements around private education, taxation, trades union laws and employment legislation among the ‘highlights’.

And although I think a hung parliament is still the most likely outcome, if we look at how closely Brits political instincts appear to mirror those of our American cousins across the pond, there is even greater cause for optimism for the Johnson camp.

For Ronal Reagan see Margaret Thatcher. For George Bush see John Major. For Bill Clinton see Tony Blair. For Barack Obama see David Cameron. For Donald Trump see….

The vast majority of people in this country thought the US had lost its marbles when they elected Trump as President three years ago. Now, we could be on the verge of giving his UK equivalent a five- year term.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/3″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_raw_html]JTNDYSUyMGhyZWYlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnR3aXR0ZXIuY29tJTJGRG93bnRvd25GcmFuayUzRnJlZl9zcmMlM0R0d3NyYyUyNTVFdGZ3JTIyJTIwY2xhc3MlM0QlMjJ0d2l0dGVyLWZvbGxvdy1idXR0b24lMjIlMjBkYXRhLXNob3ctY291bnQlM0QlMjJmYWxzZSUyMiUzRUZvbGxvdyUyMCU0MERvd250b3duRnJhbmslM0MlMkZhJTNFJTNDc2NyaXB0JTIwYXN5bmMlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnBsYXRmb3JtLnR3aXR0ZXIuY29tJTJGd2lkZ2V0cy5qcyUyMiUyMGNoYXJzZXQlM0QlMjJ1dGYtOCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_html]JTNDYSUyMGNsYXNzJTNEJTIydHdpdHRlci10aW1lbGluZSUyMiUyMGRhdGEtaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyMTAwMCUyMiUyMGhyZWYlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnR3aXR0ZXIuY29tJTJGRG93bnRvd25GcmFuayUzRnJlZl9zcmMlM0R0d3NyYyUyNTVFdGZ3JTIyJTNFVHdlZXRzJTIwYnklMjBEb3dudG93bkZyYW5rJTNDJTJGYSUzRSUyMCUzQ3NjcmlwdCUyMGFzeW5jJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZwbGF0Zm9ybS50d2l0dGVyLmNvbSUyRndpZGdldHMuanMlMjIlMjBjaGFyc2V0JTNEJTIydXRmLTglMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZzY3JpcHQlM0UlMjA=[/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_html]JTNDYSUyMGhyZWYlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnR3aXR0ZXIuY29tJTJGRG93bnRvd25GcmFuayUzRnJlZl9zcmMlM0R0d3NyYyUyNTVFdGZ3JTIyJTIwY2xhc3MlM0QlMjJ0d2l0dGVyLWZvbGxvdy1idXR0b24lMjIlMjBkYXRhLXNob3ctY291bnQlM0QlMjJmYWxzZSUyMiUzRUZvbGxvdyUyMCU0MERvd250b3duRnJhbmslM0MlMkZhJTNFJTNDc2NyaXB0JTIwYXN5bmMlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnBsYXRmb3JtLnR3aXR0ZXIuY29tJTJGd2lkZ2V0cy5qcyUyMiUyMGNoYXJzZXQlM0QlMjJ1dGYtOCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Downtown in Business

The Tory psychodrama continues…

The contrast between new government and new opposition could not be starker. Frank McKenna reflects on a week that saw the return of the grown-ups to Downing Street, as the Tory psychodrama continues.

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