Brexit is no equal to Paradise. I raise the point only to counter Victorian poet Robert Browning, who opined that “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” That is to say, Brexit should be within the grasp of Britons who asked for independence from the European Union. It is not too much to ask.

Yet more than three years since the historic vote, Britain is still a member of the EU. Having failed to meet the deadline of March 29, Brexiteers are understandably underwhelmed they will actually achieve independence by the new one, October 31.

Surely, after finally cashiering the “Remainer” prime minister, Theresa May, and with two Tory leadership contenders vowing to exit on the prescribed date, “do or die,” Brexiteers can rest on their oars? Would were it so simple.

Truth is, neither candidate, Boris Johnson nor Jeremy Hunt, can be wholly trusted on the Brexit file. Not to impugn the probity of either man. Rather, that political exigencies — the hope of holding out for more favorable terms, fear of a general election, a Jeremy Corbyn “socialist” government, or Project Fear’s “economic collapse” propaganda — may induce them to waffle on Brexit’s end of October deadline or its “independence” agenda.

Breitbart columnist James Delingpole voices the collective concern over the leading protagonist. “Just because I believe that Boris Johnson is the best hope of saving the Conservative party from total destruction,” he writes, “doesn’t mean I think he’s going to deliver.”

Citing Boris’s “lack of ideology” and “desperate need to be liked,” Mr. Delingpole takes up your Diarist’s preference for Cabinet government against the “presidential” model. In his estimation, were a Prime Minister Johnson to “delegate to proper conservatives,” perhaps then there’d be a proper Brexit and “a golden era of prosperity and liberty.”

Given such gloomy prognostications, why take up the cause of BoJo? Plainly stated, someone’s got to push Brexit past the finish line, and Boris Johnson seems the man most likely to do it. Jeremy Hunt has more Brexit “demerits” than his Tory colleague, and Brexit party leader Nigel Farage lacks a seat in Westminster (let alone easy passage into No. 10.)

On the matter of Mr. Farage, though, Taki Theodoracopulos offers a “fail-safe plan” for Brexit success. “Boris sticks Nigel in the House of Lords and names him chief negotiator with [Michel] Barnier.” More intriguing, give Mr. Farage a place at the Cabinet table, “thus ensuring a victory for the good guys if it comes down to elections.”

That a general election will be held sometime in late summer or early autumn is almost inevitable, given the hostility in Parliament to a “no deal” Brexit — the likely outcome, regardless of who wins the Conservative leadership contest.

Taki says take heart; don’t fear going to the polls, embrace it. “A massive victory for those who have respected the people’s 2016 vote will follow,” he promises.

In like manner, making the case for Brexit, though important, lacks chops without a specific champion. The benefits of Britain regaining independence from Brussels, in areas such as trade, border security, and parliamentary sovereignty, need a paladin in power. Boris is the horseman for the hour.

Thus Brexit idealists rally to him, putting his limitations into perspective. Their public objective is three-fold: to defend British independence; to argue that Boris Johnson is the MP best positioned to make Brexit reality; and, not least, to hold Mr. Johnson to account — emphasizing that he enjoys their support only in so far as he makes Brexit his overriding objective.

Past Brexit betrayal has hardened the resolve of British sovereigntists. Conservatives have been warned that further delay will decimate the party. Mr. Farage and his Brexit cohort are only awaiting their chance to push Brexit forward. No one is indispensable; Brexit is all.

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Image: “The Conjuror,” after Heironymus Bosch, circa 1505, drawing by Elliott Banfield, by courtesy of the artist.