British government: a tragicomic unravelling
With the Brexit cliff fast approaching, Theresa May’s cabinet is still negotiating – and fighting – with itself
The tragicomic scale of the disarray in the British government, which grows more dysfunctional with every week that Theresa May’s rudderless administration holds on to power, poses risks that go far beyond Britain’s shores. Five months after stumbling back to Downing Street following a disastrous election that left her in power but shorn of her authority, May’s cabinet is divided, paralysed by weakness and, having lost two of its most prominent members in two weeks, now literally falling apart.
Michael Fallon resigned as defence secretary following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women. Priti Patel was forced out of her role as international development secretary over unauthorised meetings with Israeli officials. May’s de facto deputy, Damian Green, is under investigation following an allegation that he behaved inappropriately with a female journalist. Meanwhile, the staggeringly ineffective foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, remains in office only because May lacks the political strength to remove a leading Brexiteer. In a properly functioning government, Johnson would be gone. Instead he is emboldened: a leaked memo he co-wrote with Michael Gove, another Brexiteer, shows he feels sufficiently secure in his position to dictate the terms of a hard Brexit to the prime minister.