The Situation

What is perhaps overlooked or even hidden by certain pundits and talking heads is the prospect that the political instability or political turmoil which has overtaken Westminster over the course of the last few days and in turn prompted Boris Johnson to step down as conservative party leader creates an even bigger dilemma for the conservatives. Johnson’s resignation from the leadership position of the conservative party creates an even bigger dilemma for the conservatives, in the sense that if Johnson is replaced as party leader, the conservatives may not be able to wield the populist votes that Johnson attracted in 2019, which in turn gave the conservatives an 80-seat majority in the British Parliament.

This means that ‘Labour’ or perhaps even the ‘Liberal Democrats’ can take advantage of the void left by Johnson in future British elections. But if Johnson stays on and returns as party leader, it means economic, political, and social dysfunction which is costly for everyone, thus the dilemma. Whether financial mismanagement and the resignation of Rishi Sunak caused problems at NHS and the resignation of Sajid Javid, or whether problems at NHS and the resignation of Sajid Javid caused the financial problems and the resignation of Rishi Sunak is a question one can pose to experts of British politics. It is a question that perhaps a number of folks — including myself — are interested in having answered, given that the resignations of these two particular individuals set off a domino effect and in turn set off the political instability that may have a spillover effect in places like Washington.

Furthermore, what this all means in a wider sense is that there are no shortcuts to overcoming political instability. Washington should heed the lessons conveyed by the political instability in Westminster at the moment, because what is occurring in Westminster at the moment forebodes or foreshadows what can occur in America either this year or between this year and 2024. Republicans, for instance, would look at what is going on in the UK and consider both the consequences of shunning Donald Trump and the consequences of acceding to Donald Trump. Democrats would also look at the situation in the UK and infer that absent of real solutions to economic, political, and social problems, the political instability which has beset Westminster will most likely head towards Washington in a matter of time.

But arguably, while the political instability which has beset Westminster may not be the ‘writing on the wall’ for the United Kingdom just yet, it may actually be the ‘writing on the wall’ for Washington. Countries in the “Old World” have deep cultures and long histories, and when a situation like the current one arises, these countries can understand the situation and adapt to a certain extent. In essence, these countries have situational awareness, and there is perhaps no one in their countries who would seek to suppress situational awareness. Thus, these countries will most likely get their house in order once they are put in this kind of situation because of deep culture, rich history, and situational awareness.

However, Washington does not have the deep culture, rich history, and situational awareness which countries in the “Old World” have, and as a result, understanding a situation like this one — in addition to having situational awareness and the ability to adapt — are things which Washington lacks at the moment. If anything, people like Tony Blinken, Janet Yellen, America’s mainstream media, and others will either enable the political instability by suppressing the situational awareness which certain folks may have, or they will deliberately allow for the political instability to take root, given that actual solutions are seen as zero-sum in the eyes of such individuals. All while Merrick Garland sits on his hands and fails to take the necessary ‘Transitional Justice’ measures which would enable Washington to address the root causes of this disturbing global situation. After all, without addressing the root causes of the current global situation, the solutions cannot be fostered and implemented. What comes next is anyone’s guess at the moment.