But in 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has achieved something quite astonishing. He has managed to unite the continent of Europe from Ireland to the Baltic, from Sweden to Spain and Italy, in a European Union which sees Britain as behaving badly.
After failing to achieve a deal to leave the EU – a deal Mr Johnson claimed was “oven ready” – and with disagreements including fishing rights, the Johnson government has sent gunboats to protect “our fish.”
The Times newspaper headline read “Navy to board French boats.” A former Conservative MP, now
Times newspaper political commentator, Matthew Parris describes Mr Johnson as an English (not a British) nationalist.