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Boris Johnson will meet his Waterloo in less than 100 days

New prime minister Boris Johnson waves on the steps of 10 Downing Street. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire. - Credit: PA

Readers react to Boris Johnson’s arrival in 10 Downing Street.

So now the new prime minister says, he has 100 days to “re-negotiate” Brexit – “do or die”.

Of course there will be the holiday recess of parliament (six weeks = 42 days) and then another recess (maybe another two weeks = 14 days) for party conferences in September, which means that he has about 50 days to resolve the Brexit conundrum.

This situation reminds me of another 100 days in history, namely the short-lived return of Napoleon from his exile in Elba (“les cent jours”), which ended not well for him. He was defeated at Waterloo and then dispatched to exile in St Helena and died there.

But remember, that the victory in Waterloo depended heavily on the very timely intervention of the Prussians, enabling Wellington to secure his victory – a fact that has been largely kept quiet in English history books, albeit confirmed by Wellington himself in the aftermath of the battle.

Will Boris have a similar fate at the end of his 100 days? Will the Germans ride to his rescue to save his bacon or will they let him fall on his own sword? And if so, where to will he be exiled? – I propose Love Island, which could be a very fitting environment for this lothario-cum-clown.

Georg Varduli, SW16

Sorry Boris but getting a man on the Moon is infinitely simpler than your plans to tamper with the century-old Irish border in order to avoid having a backstop.

Remember the careful planning for the Moon landing had taken almost a decade, inspired by the vision of a dynamic president, underwritten by the wealthiest nation on earth and employing some of the best scientific and engineering talents on earth in a spirit of cooperation.

Sadly, but characteristically, your plan appears to have been conjured up overnight, with little or no thought given to how this customs technology would be funded, the regulations enforced or its use agreed with both Ireland (north and south) and the rest of the EU members. And you are no Jack Kennedy.

Paul Dolan, Northwich

– What do you think? Have your say by writing to letters@theneweuropean.co.uk and pick up a copy of The New European every Thursday to read the full mailbag.

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