Executive power is the only antidote to political or policy extremism, Rashmee Roshan Lall writes.


First published in September 2019.


Sometimes, it takes guts and imagination to do a hard thing. Thatโ€™s the takeaway from a suggestion recently put forward on how to stop Brexit, itself a deeply contentious issue, and by some accounts, one that is no longer desirable or viable.

All that some of the more moderate anti-Brexiters now want is a deal with the EU. They donโ€™t want Britain to crash out of Europe on Halloween.

Even so, there are some who still dream of stopping Brexit altogether. The Lib Dems indeed.

And some commentators.

Recently, a rather tortuous comparison was drawn between Italy and Britain. Both have a fixed term parliament. Both have powerful politicians โ€” former deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini in Italy and prime minister Boris Johnson in Britain โ€” who desperately want elections. Both are hamstrung by the law. In Italy, parties other than Salviniโ€™s Lega have been able to cobble together a government. And thatโ€™s what some commentators say should happen in Britain.

The FTโ€™s Europe commentator, Wolfgang Mรผnchau, argues that both Mr Salvini and Mr Johnson misjudged their ability to force elections. And that Britain could, like Italy, have a national unity government, โ€œif Mr Johnson were to resign as prime minister to avoid having to write a Brexit-extension letter.โ€

Such a governmentโ€™s initial mandate would be to ask for an extension, and then bring about elections. But, writes Mr Munchau, โ€œits participants may change their mind when they realise that they have nothing to gain from a vote. So what starts out as a stopgap administration could stay in power all the way until 2022, when the next election is due.โ€

A key point in all of this is the need to remove hardlinersโ€™ ability to exercise executive power. Some say that Mr Johnson โ€” just like Mr Salvini when he was in office โ€” must be replaced asap because legislative steps to block a no-deal Brexit may not fully work.

In other words, executive power is the only antidote to political or policy extremism.๐Ÿ”ท



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[This piece was originally published on Medium and re-published in PMP Magazine on 18 September 2019, with the authorโ€™s consent. | The author writes in a personal capacity.]

(Cover: Boris Johnson/Matteo Salvini.)