Time, Boris: preparing for the worst may be the only option

Following Boris Johnson’s appointment, the Irish government and businesses are battening down the hatches for the messiest, hardest Brexit possible

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Coveney Picture: Julien Behal

The government is eyeing up British prime minister Boris Johnson’s administration like a drunk who has been asked to leave a pub.

That is the metaphor that one minister used when discussing just how likely it was that Britain’s scheduled departure from the EU would be messy and chaotic.

“We’ve all been in a pub with a few pints and somebody has been asked to leave. When he’s heading to the door, you’re ...