'Hasta la vista, baby': Boris Johnson says goodbye to House of Commons

Well, you can't say he doesn't have a way with words.

Speaking at his final weekly parliamentary address on Wednesday, outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended his last Q&A and debate session with a comment surely as unique as his truncated time on Downing Street.

"We've helped, I've helped, get this country through a pandemic and help save another country from barbarism. And frankly, that's enough to be going on with. Mission largely accomplished," Johnson said. "I want to thank everybody here and hasta la vista, baby."

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The Terminator-inspired finale was met with "a round of applause from most on his own side," Reuters writes. Schwarzenegger — er, Johnson — then followed things up with a bit of advice for his successor: "[S]tay close to the Americans," focus "on the road ahead," and "remember, above all, it's not Twitter that counts. It's the people that sent us here."

Johnson earlier this month agreed to step down from his role as leader after a series of long-running scandals prompted resignations within his cabinet. The race to replace him has now narrowed to two finalists: former finance minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. The winner will be announced in September, and Johnson will stay on until then, per The Washington Post.

Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.