January 31, 2020 is undoubtedly the main day in the life of Boris Johnson, a native of New York, a pupil of the European School of Brussels and British Eaton, a journalist, the mayor of London, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and now the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Today is the last day of the official stay of Great Britain in the EU, and Johnson, as in the song, brought him as close as he could. And I can understand him.

Not that the extravagant British, the descendant (suddenly!) Of the Turkish politician and interior minister in the government of Ahmed Okdai, was close to me. But one of my friends, a native of a Portuguese aristocratic family, followed exactly (one to one) the same path of formation as Boris. Born in New York in a family of diplomats, from there he ended up in the same European school (which, in addition to Johnson, was also graduated from the current president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen), from there - to the University of London. No, my friend did not become a politician, but they share one thing in common with Boris: passionate hatred of the European Union.

I often asked him about the reasons for such an all-consuming dislike for the EU, and he offered me various logical justifications, but the main thing was an irrational argument: if you have been in the circle of “these people” (European bureaucrats) for a long time, you simply cannot do otherwise. The personal motives of charismatics and maniacs like Boris Johnson should not be underestimated. He did what he did, full of faith that it is better for both Britain and the EU, but is it a big question.

Misty Albion is losing money, and already losing it - before the official release, before at least one agreement was broken or an official border was established. In 2017, the country's economy received less than £ 21 billion, in 2018 - £ 47 billion, and in 2019 - already £ 63 billion (Bloomberg figures). For comparison: for the entire period of Britain’s membership in the EU, £ 177 billion leaked to the budget of the Union of European Socialist Republics.

Yes, we all expected that Brexit will start an unstoppable process, that it will be followed by Greek, Italexit, Frexit - and Europe from the USSR 2.0 will turn into what it should be - into a community of independent states with a national currency and national culture. Instead, separatism escalated in the kingdom itself: Scotland, which voted against leaving the EU, demands a new referendum on independence, and in Ireland, which is generally in a special position and has not yet gone anywhere, they remembered the forgotten word IRA (Irish Republican Army - revolutionaries demanding itself, of course, the sovereign state of Ireland).

It would be foolish to assume that Boris Johnson and his team did not foresee all these troubles. And the fact that they did not stop in front of them confirms once again: Britain’s exit from the EU was and is Johnson’s main business and, to complete it, he will stop at nothing.

The problem is that in Europe there are simply no such Johnsons. Yes, Matteo Salvini in Italy gained weight. Yes, even in Germany, the main EU country, the Alternative for Germany party (the third largest in parliament) is also for revising relations with the Brussels regional committee. And even French President Emmanuel Macron has recently opaque hinted that relations between the main countries of the union must be built in a new way. And yet none of these politicians has registered the exit from the EU as the main point of the program.

Britain will come out - and Britain will begin to storm. Most likely, it will finally turn into a regional power, and possibly lose some of its part - which, of course, is in the hands of Brussels. Perhaps this explains the intransigence of Frau Merkel in the last telephone conversation with Johnson, and the ease with which the EU suddenly let the old woman go to Britain on all four sides. Now England will set a negative example, and everyone will have reason to think.

However, Boris should not be underestimated: he has repeatedly taken the most unexpected trump cards from his sleeve and, quite possibly, will be able to surprise this time too.

The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.