LONDON - Having achieved his ambition of a Brexit vote, Nigel Farage will leave the UK Independence Party (UKIP) that he co-founded in 1993 in a precarious position when he hands over the reins Friday. Farage's political destiny was cast with the co-founding of UKIP in 1993, and with his election to the European Parliament in 1999, aged 35. With the party's image and Farage becoming intertwined, and with the Brexit vote achieved, UKIP now faces a vacuum of leadership and identity. Failure to win election to the House of Commons allowed Farage to spend more time behind enemy lines in the European Parliament, railing against the "corrupt" and "undemocratic" EU. The Brexit vote helped vindicate some of Farage's methods, but they came at a price.

Source: Bangkok Post September 15, 2016 01:52 UTC