Summary

On the surface, the appointment of Boris Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom seems to signal the arrival of endgame in the Brexit saga, if nothing because a ‘hard Brexit’ is finally out in the open as a viable if not preferred option to be pursued by the new government. Johnson’s first moves in office did nothing to dispel the idea, like his blunt rejection of the backstop deal, which produced the expected result of freezing out any potential new talks with the European Union.

But now, as before, news of the impending death of Britain’s epic, slow-motion political train wreck may be premature. There are still plenty of electoral and parliamentary knife fights to play out before this is all finished.

Here’s what to expect from the opening months of a Johnson premiership: