Boris Johnson is back on the high wire, but less hilariously

For a long time, Boris Johnson’s most famous moment was comically getting stuck on a zip line during the London Olympics in 2012. His latest high-wire act is much less hilarious and much more consequential.

Following the U.K.’s arcane parliamentary procedures — which involve a Black Rod, various maces and a Cap of Maintenance — Johnson asked Queen Elizabeth II to suspend Parliament, whereupon she signaled her approval by beheading a robin, the national bird, with a tiny ceremonial hatchet. (Only one thing in that sentence is false.) Johnson’s move, denounced by critics as a coup, or at least a “constitutional outrage,” has several objectives. The most obvious is to run out the clock on opponents of a no-deal Brexit. That might make the EU believe Johnson is serious about inflicting such a disaster on his own country, which might encourage it to give a little in negotiations.