LONDON - British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson likened himself to the comic book character The
Incredible Hulk in a newspaper interview where he stressed his
determination to take Britain out of the European Union on Oct.
31.
The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that Johnson said he
would find a way to circumvent a recent parliament vote ordering
him to delay Brexit rather than take Britain out of the EU
without a transition deal.
"The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets," Johnson was
quoted as saying. "Hulk always escaped, no matter how tightly
bound in he seemed to be - and that is the case for this
country. We will come out on October 31."
Britain's parliament has repeatedly rejected the exit deal
Johnson's predecessor Theresa May negotiated with the EU, and
this month rejected leaving without a deal - angering many
Britons who voted to leave the bloc more than three years ago.
Johnson wants to harness that anger to win a majority in an
early national election, but his efforts to call one have so far
been thwarted by opposition parties who want to first ensure
Britain cannot leave the EU without a deal on Oct. 31.
The Liberal Democrats party, which has 18 seats in Britain's
650-seat parliament, on Sunday made its bid for the votes of
those who want remain in the EU, toughening its anti-Brexit
stance to say it would stop the exit process if it won power in
an election, and would reject any Brexit deal Johnson struck.
"If people put into government as a majority government, the
'Stop Brexit' party, then stopping Brexit is exactly what people
will get," party leader Jo Swinson said.
HUGE PROGRESS
Johnson has said he wants to negotiate a new deal that does
not involve a 'backstop', which would potentially tie Britain
against its will to EU rules after it leaves in order to avoid
checks on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The EU has so far insisted on the backstop, and Britain has
not presented any detailed alternative.
Nonetheless, Johnson said he was "very confident" ahead of a
meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
on Monday.
"There's a very, very good conversation going on about how
to address the issues of the Northern Irish border. A huge
amount of progress is being made," Johnson told the Mail on
Sunday, without giving details.
The opposition Labour Party called for more details on what
Johnson was proposing.
Johnson drew parallels between Britain's situation in Brexit
talks and the frustrations felt by fictional scientist Bruce
Banner, who when enraged turned into the super-strong Incredible
Hulk, frequently leaving behind a trail of destruction.
"Banner might be bound in manacles, but when provoked he
would explode out of them," he said.
The Sunday Times reported that Johnson's senior adviser
Dominic Cummings had raised the idea of suspending parliament
for a second time. Parliament is currently suspended until Oct.
14 - a decision which is being challenged in the courts by those
who say it is an attempt to block debate on Brexit.
STOP BREXIT PARTY
On Saturday, former Conservative minister Sam Gyimah said he
was switching to the pro-EU Liberal Democrat party in protest at
Johnson's Brexit policies and political style, and Swinson said
she believed she could win an election.
But, polling suggests the Liberal Democrats, who in the
party's modern form have never won more than 62 seats at an
election, are unlikely to find themselves in a position to stop
Brexit outright.
Polls published late on Saturday painted a conflicting
picture of the Conservative Party's political fortunes under
Johnson.
A poll conducted by Opinium for the Observer newspaper
showed Conservative support rose to 37% from 35% over the past
week, while Jeremy Corbyn's Labour held at 25% and Liberal
Democrat support dropped to 16% from 17%. Support for Nigel
Farage's Brexit Party remained at 13%.
However, a separate poll by ComRes for the Sunday Express
put Conservative support at just 28%, down from 30% and only a
shade ahead of Labour at 27%.
ComRes said just 12% of the more than 2,000 people it survey
thought Britain's parliament could be trusted to do the right
thing for the country.