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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed off his final appearance before Parliament with the mic drop statement, “Hasta la vista, baby.”
In a spirited and high energy farewell speech, the outgoing scandal-scarred leader quoted Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous line from the 1991 hit movie “Terminator 2: Judgement Day.”
Johnson’s comments seemingly left the door open for a potential comeback in the future, after quoting another famous catchphrase from the film, “I’ll be back.”
But when asked if there was a hidden message in his speech, his press secretary told The Post this was “his way of saying farewell.”
Johnson also received a standing ovation from the Conservative benches, however, his predecessor Theresa May refused to join in on the applause.
Johnson, who took office in 2019, earlier this month finally succumbed to the dozens of calls from fellow Conservatives telling him to resign.
In his final Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Johnson talked about his legacy around the country’s COVID-19 response and vaccine rollout, as well as his support of Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24.
“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,” Johnson said.
“I want to thank everybody here and hasta la vista, baby. Mission largely accomplished.”
Johnson warned his successor to “always remember to check your rear-view mirror” as he received a round of applause from members of parliament.
Johnson continued, “I want to use the last few seconds to give some words of advice to my successor, whoever he or she may be.
“Number one, stay close to the Americans, stick up for the Ukrainians, stick up for freedom and democracy everywhere.”
“Focus on the road ahead, but always remember to check the rear-view mirror,” he told MPs. “And remember above all it’s not Twitter that counts, it’s the people who sent us here.”
Johnson said his time in Number 10 was “the greatest privilege of my life” as he credited his government for “transforming” democracy and “restoring” national independence.
The race to succeed Johnson as Britain’s next prime minister is down to two as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak are set to go head-to-head for a spot in No. 10.
The PM hopefuls advanced to the final round of the Conservative Party’s leadership contest Wednesday after a series of votes by the party’s members of Parliament eliminated six other candidates.
With Post wires
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