Voters in the UK should be able to see through this nonsense by now.

The most likely situation in which Boris Johnson would become prime minister involves the majority of UK citizens voting ‘Leave’ in the EU referendum next month. That seems unlikely at the moment.

If it did happen, the pundits would have us believe that David Cameron may either quit of his own accord or be forced out, leaving the door open for Mr Johnson to take his place.

If (again) Mr Johnson were to become prime minister, he would then have to renegotiate treaties between the UK and countries in the EU. And, yes, it is possible that such a process may be strained because of Mr Johnson’s personality and political positions.

That’s a lot of “if”s and “may”s.

The simpler fact is that the people voicing concerns are really talking about their own distaste for Mr Johnson’s politics.

The “horror scenario” they describe, and the “strained” relations, may never happen.

The ‘Leave’ campaign’s comment – “Unelected bureaucrat working for unelected bureaucrat speaks” – is typical of that organisation’s angle on the EU, that it is full of “unelected bureaucrats”. It isn’t wrong, but it masks the full facts.

Martin Selmayr and Jean Claude Junker may be “unelected bureaucrats” but that does not mean their opinions are worthless. Vote Leave’s Robert Oxley wants you to think that, but the fact is that these are people with whom the UK will have to bargain after the referendum, come what may.

This Writer’s opinion is that this speculation is pointless.

By far the more likely future involves the leaders of the UK and the EU – whoever they may be – handling the result of the referendum in a pragmatic way and simply getting on with their jobs.

Clashes of personality simply won’t register among their priorities.

Boris Johnson has faced an extraordinary string of attacks from some of the most senior figures in the EU, one of whom described the prospect of him becoming prime minister as a “horror scenario”.

Martin Selmayr, who is chief of staff to the European commission president, Jean Claude Juncker, lumped Johnson in with France’s Marine Le Pen and the US presidential candidate Donald Trump in a provocative tweet.

The message, in which Selmayr says “it is worth fighting populism”, has already triggered a backlash among out campaigners in Britain.

The Vote Leave media spokesman Robert Oxley said of the intervention: “Unelected bureaucrat working for unelected bureaucrat speaks.” There was speculation that Selmayr’s action might have been coordinated as it landed immediately after criticism from Juncker.

The commission president accused Johnson of painting an unreal picture of the EU for the British public and said he should return to Brussels, where he previously worked as a journalist, to see whether his claims chimed with “reality”.

Juncker also hinted that if Britain’s highest-profile campaigner were to become prime minister then his discussions with European partners might be strained.

Source: Boris Johnson as PM is ‘horror scenario’, says Juncker EU aide | Politics | The Guardian

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