London (AFP)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to convince MPs who are very reluctant to approve early parliamentary elections on Monday, the ultimate attempt to implement his Brexit strategy at any cost and get out of a political crisis, before the suspension of Parliament for five weeks.

This latest showdown, after a series of camouflages inflicted last week on the British Conservative leader, comes as no major progress towards an agreement was recorded Monday at a meeting in Dublin between Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar.

The British parliament will be suspended until October 14, two weeks before the planned date of Brexit, whether or not members vote in favor of early elections, a spokesman for 10 Downing Street said.

This prompted a wave of indignation in the UK when it was announced in late August by Boris Johnson, accused of maneuvering to rush the UK to a Brexit without a divorce agreement. The Prime Minister, who came to power at the end of July, had justified him by the need to prepare and present a new national policy program.

It is very unlikely that the executive will get the two-thirds majority needed to call a poll, which he wants to hold on Oct. 15, as the opposition does not want to run the risk of getting his hand back before Brexit, which is currently scheduled. October 31.

The opposition fears that Boris Johnson will flout the law passed last week with the support of rebel Conservative MPs, forcing him to seek a three-month postponement of Brexit from Brussels if he does not get a deal. exit by 19 October, just after a European summit in Brussels.

The law against the "no deal" must receive Monday the approval of the Queen, the last step required for its entry into force.

"We will do everything possible to prevent us from going out without an agreement on October 31 and we will support elections when it is clear that we will avoid an exit without agreement," Labor opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Sky News. .

- "Significant discrepancies" -

Boris Johnson assured Monday that he wants to leave the EU with an agreement, but Brussels and London can not agree on how to keep the border open in Ireland after Brexit.

"Some common ground has been established in some areas but significant differences remain", according to a joint statement issued after the meeting between MM. Johnson and Varadkar in Dublin.

According to the latter, London has yet to submit any alternative proposal "realistic" to the "backstop" in Ireland, which Boris Johnson wishes to offload the withdrawal agreement negotiated by his predecessor Theresa May.

This provision aims to prevent the return of a physical border between Northern Ireland, a British province, and the Republic of Ireland, a Member State of the European Union.

It foresees that, for lack of a better solution after a transitional period, the whole United Kingdom remains in a "single customs territory" with the EU.

This would, according to Boris Johnson, prevent the United Kingdom from pursuing an independent commercial policy.

The British idea of ​​creating a common zone on the island of Ireland where the same sanitary and phytosanitary standards would apply was welcomed freshly. It has not translated into concrete solutions, said a spokeswoman for the European Commission.

Boris Johnson is fiercely opposed to any new Brexit deadline, originally scheduled for March 29 and already postponed twice, if no compromise is found.

He reiterated Monday his determination to leave the European club at any price on October 31, under penalty of inflicting "permanent damage" in the British confidence in democracy, after the referendum was pronounced at 52% for Brexit in 2016.

Elections would allow him to revive, because he is in bad shape since the unprecedented exclusion of the Conservative Party, of which he is the leader, of 21 rebel deputies and the defection of another for the Liberal Democrats, a centrist pro -EU.

On Saturday, he suffered another snub with the resignation of a heavyweight from his government, Europhile Labor Minister Amber Rudd, after that of his own brother, Jo Johnson, in the name of "national interest".

According to a YouGov poll in the Sunday Times, the Tories would top the list with 35% of the vote, 14 points ahead of Labor. Other recent polls show a tighter gap between the two parties, but still with the Conservative Party in the lead.

Any new deadline will still have to be unanimously approved by the other 27 EU member states, and France does not seem convinced at the moment.

© 2019 AFP