It all happened so fast. Less than five months ago, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the UK would hold a referendum on whether to remain in the European Union. Cameron was a weak leader who was ensnared by his right-wing antagonists. He had a persuasive case to make but failed to do so. Rather than win the argument, he agreed to hold a referendum without considering the full implications of that vote. Now Britain’s political future is as uncertain as its been since the WWII period.
There were many forces behind Britain’s Leave campaign, but two leaders stand out: Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London, and Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party. Expert demagogues, they whipped working class voters into a frenzy, stoking racial resentment and inventing crises at every turn. They exaggerated the threats, misrepresented the facts, and exploited economic angst.
Confused and angry, British voters took the bait. They opted to leave the European Union, believing they were “taking their country back.” But no one really explained what that meant. Amid the paroxysms of rage, voters forgot to ask tough questions like “What is the European Union?” or “What are the implications of leaving it for England?” Indeed, Google reported that these were two of the most popular search phrases in Britain after the polls closed. Only now are voters learning that their financial markets are in turmoil, their pound is plummeting, and that most of the claims made by Brexit proponents were spurious. As The New York Times reported, pro-Leave politicians are already backtracking on the many false promises made during campaign. “A lot of things were said in advance of this referendum that we might want to think about again,” said Liam Fox, a former cabinet minister. Translation: we lied about the problems and therefore the solutions we proposed aren’t applicable.
Now the ship has sailed and people are scrambling to make sense of it.
If they’re looking for help on that front, they won’t get it from Johnson or Farage. Both men have promptly abandoned their posts. Johnson pulled out of the race to become Britain’s prime minister. He bowed to fellow conservative, Michael Grove, who saw no use for Johnson’s substance-free demagoguery now that the referendum has concluded. As for Farage, he has slithered back into retirement following the Brexit campaign. “During the referendum, I said I wanted my country back,” he remarked on Monday, “now I want my life back.” Having achieved his ambition of destroying Britain’s ties to the rest of Europe, his work is done. But the disaster he and Johnson helped create is just beginning. It falls to others to pick up the pieces, to navigate the enormous economic challenges ahead.
The Brexit supporters followed their “leaders” into an abyss. They were sold a bill of goods and once the checks were cashed, there was no one on the other line to greet them. This ought to sound familiar to American voters. What happened in Britain can – and in many ways is – happening here. Trump is following the same playbook as Johnson and Farage. Unlike Johnson and Farage, who at least have meaningful political experience, Trump is merely a brand, applying his marketing techniques to a political process long governed by the laws of public relations. Tactically, though, he’s playing upon the same grievances.
