Boris Johnson’s father applying for French citzenship

Paris, Dec 31 (efe-epa).- The father of United Kingdom Prime Minister and Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson said he is applying for French citizenship.

Stanley Johnson told French broadcaster RTL that he “will always be European.”

“It’s not a question of becoming French. If I understand correctly, I already am. My mother was born in France, her mother was French as was her grandfather. For me, it is a question of reclaiming something I already am, and for that I’m happy,” the former member of the European Parliament said.

“We cannot tell the British people: you are not European. Europe will always be something more than a common market and the European Union,” he said.

The UK is due to begin life outside the EU for the first time in almost five decades on 1 January, when the Brexit transition period ends.

Boris Johnson’s negotiation team landed a deal with Brussels on Christmas Eve, more than four years after UK voters opted to exit the bloc in a 2016 referendum.

Stanley Johnson supported Remain in the lead up to the referendum, while his son, at the time an MP, became one of the most prominent faces of the Leave camp.

Boris Johnson became prime minister in 2019, taking over from Theresa May, who was felled by Conservative Party rebellions over her proposed Brexit deal. Johnson himself resigned from her cabinet in opposition to the deal.

UK lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of Johnson’s deal on Wednesday, although the opposition labeled it as “thin.”EFE-EPA

mdv/jt