(CN) – Boris Johnson, standing in front of No. 10 Downing Street, delivered his first speech as the British prime minister on Wednesday, pushing a go-it-alone approach for the United Kingdom and urging his country to not fear leaving the European Union without a deal.
Johnson's speech, delivered with his posh accent and accompanied by his now-familiar abrupt gesturing, came during an eventful day in London and marked the beginning of what may be one of Britain's most unpredictable governments in recent memory.
In the early afternoon, outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May turned in an emotional performance during her last Prime Minister's Question Time – on Wednesdays, a U.K. prime minister is grilled in the House of Commons – and then tendered her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. After that, it was Johnson's turn to get the queen's blessing to form another government.
On his way to Buckingham Palace, Johnson's motorcade was halted by Greenpeace activists. Protesters later provided a backdrop of jeers and shouts as Johnson made his first speech in front of Downing Street.
Johnson, who has reached the apex of power after a life of privilege and outrageous conduct, is compared to U.S. President Donald Trump for his willingness to embrace a nationalist agenda favored by the far right.
On Tuesday, after Johnson was elected the leader of the Tory party, Trump praised him and said he is being called “Britain Trump.”
The new prime minister's speech echoed – albeit on a minor key – the kind of nationalist themes now a familiar part of Trump's script. Johnson has pledged to take Britain out of the EU “with or without a deal” by Oct. 31, a deadline the EU set for Britain to make up its mind.
Economists and political analysts warn that leaving the EU without a deal could cause major economic and political damage to the U.K. and Europe. Nonetheless, hardcore right-wing sections of British society, including many on the nationalist far right, are ready for that leap and Johnson has become their chief exponent.
“Everyone knows the values that flag represents,” Johnson said, referring to the Union Jack. “It stands for freedom and free speech and habeas corpus and the rule of law, and above all it stands for democracy.”
He then added: “And that is why we will come out of the EU on Oct. 31. Because in the end, Brexit was a fundamental decision by the British people that they wanted their laws made by people that they can elect and they can remove from office.”
Fundamentally, Johnson is the prime minister that a pro-Brexit faction of the Conservative Party has rallied behind in order to see if he can force Britain out of the EU. The British public is split over whether to leave or not.
For now, Johnson is vowing to do what many see as the impossible: Strike a new deal with the EU that suits the hardcore Brexit faction of the Tory party by the October deadline, which is only 99 days away.
May's government spent three years negotiating a voluminous withdrawal deal with the EU, but a deeply fractured House of Commons rejected that deal three times. Parliament has also rejected leaving the EU without a deal, and this means it may be highly likely that Johnson's promise to exit the EU on Oct. 31 will fail.