Page - 8 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 05/02

The narrative horizon of imperial glory and doom has also driven parliamen- tary debate ever since the Brexit referendum. So strong was that narrative ho- rizon, that as an observer, I have been puzzled by the unwillingness of (some) politicians to go beyond their ideological frame just so they can continue to reassure themselves of their individual power and importance while holding the entire country hostage and taking it on a path of destruction. And I am refer- ring not to any economic impacts of whatever Brexit scenario might become reality, but to the destabilization of the social fabric. More so as since the Brexit referendum, UK politicians seem to have developed a certain fetish for destruc- tion. That Theresa May had to resign and Boris Johnson ascended to power appears to have been the ultimate indulgence for a number of Brexiteers, who celebrated May’s failure to get her deal approved by Parliament with cham- pagne parties (fig. 2).2 That parts of the electorate continue to put their trust into politicians who use stories from fantasyland as their narrative frame is on the one hand part of an attempt to redefine political practice and political norms, as Jonathan White 2 Cf. Syal 2019. Fig. 2: The Conservatives, Out of the EU Facebook Event, tweeted 23 August 2019, https://twitter. com/Conservatives/status/1164825101608607744 [accessed 30 August 2019]. 8 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 7–14