cakeism
cakeism – sostantivo
cakeist – aggettivo, sostantivo
If Boris Johnson’s name is ever linked to a political idea, it is likely to be “cakeism” — the notion that it is possible to govern without making hard choices.
The cakeist fallacy of being out of the single market but with all the benefits
Boris Johnson è un abile affabulatore, si sa, e il termine di cui parliamo oggi ne dà la misura. Nell’autunno del 2016, quand’era ministro degli Esteri, Johnson fece un commento a proposito dei negoziati sulla Brexit: ‘My policy on cake is pro having it and pro eating it,’ ovvero ‘La mia linea [per quanto riguarda le richieste britanniche] è di avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca’. Citando il proverbio ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it (too)’ l’attuale Primo ministro alludeva ai compromessi che il divorzio del Regno Unito dall’UE inevitabilmente comporta, ma ribaltandone il significato – si può avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca.
Secondo la filosofia propugnata da Boris Johnson il Regno Unito può mantenere tutti i benefici dell’adesione all’Unione Europea senza nessuno degli obblighi (la ‘cake’) e quella frase a effetto pronunciata con una certa sfrontatezza è stata usata sia dai media sia dai negoziatori europei per caratterizzare l’approccio britannico alla Brexit.
Origini del termine
Il termine cakeism è formato dal sostantivo cake e il suffisso –ism; quest’ultimo ha vari usi: qui serve a veicolare umoristicamente l’idea di un movimento o un’ideologia. L’uso di cakeism per descrivere l’atteggiamento di Boris Johnson ha preso piede subito dopo il commento su citato.
Traduzione di Loredana Riu
cakeism – noun
cakeist – adjective, noun
If Boris Johnson’s name is ever linked to a political idea, it is likely to be “cakeism” — the notion that it is possible to govern without making hard choices.
The cakeist fallacy of being out of the single market but with all the benefits
Boris Johnson is well known for having a way with words and this was no exception. In the autumn of 2016, the then Foreign Secretary (now Prime Minister) observed flippantly in the context of Brexit negotiations that: ‘My policy on cake is pro having it and pro eating it.’ Mr Johnson was alluding to the inevitable trade-offs involved in the UK’s withdrawal from the EU by citing the English proverb that ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it (too)’. This means that sometimes in order to get what you want you have to give up something else that you want. Once you have eaten your cake, you no longer have the expectation of eating it.
Boris Johnson was saying that the proverb was not true; that cake could be both eaten and kept. There would be no downsides to Brexit and the people of the UK could enjoy the benefits of EU membership without actually being in the EU. His words were pounced on by others, and soon both those on the EU side of the negotiations and media commentators were referring to what were seen as unrealistic UK demands as ‘cake’.
Origin
The use of the term cakeism to describe the attitude displayed by Mr Johnson came soon after he made his comment. It is formed from the noun cake and the suffix -ism. This suffix has various uses; in this case it is humorously denoting a movement or ideology.
