Therese Raphael, Columnist

Theresa May Can Live Without Boris Johnson

Theresa May now leads a coalition in which the Brexiters are the junior partners.

July 9, 2018 at 11:38 AM UTC

Updated on

July 9, 2018 at 4:04 PM UTC

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering health care and British politics. Previously, she was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

Will he challenge her?
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

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For the second time in her brief premiership, Theresa May faces a battle for survival. If she prevails, it will be as the leader of a new political construct in Britain: the single-party coalition government.

Ever since the disastrous 2017 election, in which her Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority and the prime minister faced calls to resign, the government has resembled a giant scrum. Heavyweights on both sides of the Brexit divide — those who want a hard, clean break with Europe and those who want the closest ties consistent with leaving — have vied for dominance.