15th September, 2019
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson likened himself to the comic book character The Incredible Hulk in a newspaper interview where he stressed his determination to take Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31.
The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that Johnson said he would find a way to circumvent a recent parliament vote ordering him to delay Brexit rather than take Britain out of the EU without a transition deal.
“The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets,” Johnson was quoted as saying. “Hulk always escaped, no matter how tightly bound in he seemed to be – and that is the case for this country. We will come out on October 31.”
Britain’s parliament has repeatedly rejected the exit deal Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May negotiated with the EU, and this month rejected leaving without a deal – angering many Britons who voted to leave the bloc more than three years ago.
Johnson wants to harness that anger to win a majority in an early national election, but his efforts to call one have so far been thwarted by opposition parties who want to first ensure Britain cannot leave the EU without a deal on Oct. 31.
The Liberal Democrats party, which has 18 seats in Britain’s 650-seat parliament, on Sunday made its bid for the votes of those who want remain in the EU, toughening its anti-Brexit stance to say it would stop the exit process if it won power in an election, and would reject any Brexit deal Johnson struck.
“If people put into government as a majority government, the ‘Stop Brexit’ party, then stopping Brexit is exactly what people will get,” party leader Jo Swinson said.
Johnson has said he wants to negotiate a new deal that does not involve a ‘backstop’, which would potentially tie Britain against its will to EU rules after it leaves in order to avoid checks on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The EU has so far insisted on the backstop, and Britain has not presented any detailed alternative.
Nonetheless, Johnson said he was “very confident” ahead of a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday.
“There’s a very, very good conversation going on about how to address the issues of the Northern Irish border. A huge amount of progress is being made,” Johnson told the Mail on Sunday, without giving details.