Come what May

Rather sooner than expected we have a new Prime Minister; Theresa May has ascended to the top job in a fashion that, even for this country, seems astonishingly undemocratic. The chaotic state of the opposition may incline her towards seeking a personal mandate by way of an early election, but, given that her predecessor exited after an ill-judged consultation of the population, I suspect that is a temptation she will resist.

One of May’s first actions has been to appoint her erstwhile opponent Boris Johnson to the post of Foreign Secretary, presumably working on the principal that one should keep one’s friends close, and one’s enemies closer. Still, it seems like a risky choice; Johnson’s decidedly undiplomatic style will probably have us at war with half of Europe before the month is out.