Can the EU Make the U.K. a Good Neighbor?

Boris Johnson’s top Brexit official David Frost wasn’t picked to build bridges. Since being elevated to a cabinet position in February, the former whisky lobbyist and proud wearer of Union Jack socks has gleefully lobbed diplomatic grenades at the European Union, accusing Brussels of inflexibility over Northern Ireland even as red tape bites into trade and local political tempers flare.

His latest missile, a demand to renegotiate the terms of post-Brexit trade only seven months after holding them up as a “cakeist” victory, shows that any stability secured by the 1,200-page deal has turned out to be fleeting. The EU response has understandably been a flat “non,” given the persistent lack of commitment from Johnson and Frost to upholding the deal in the first place, though it’s open to “creative solutions” provided they don’t reimpose a hard border in Ireland or open a back door into the single market.