Boris Johnson is risking his job

The controversy over the parties at his residence during the first months of the lockdown is putting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a lot of trouble. After another news from a party held in Downing Street Gardens on May 20 – news that has surfaced in recent days – Johnson apologized with a short speech in Parliament, essentially claiming to have acted in good faith.

His apology, however, did not convince a section of his own party, that He asked His resignation is officially “over” They said laconicament A BBC News A minister in his government, prefers to remain anonymous. The belief of many British commentators is that Johnson’s consensus within the Conservative Party and voters is so low that he may be forced to resign too soon.

In his speech to Parliament, Johnson acknowledged that he was aware that “there are things we haven’t done well, and I have to take responsibility for them,” but added that “the Garden is an extension of the office and that it is a constant used. Because living in the open air was used to contain the virus”, and that “technically” the nearly 40 people who attended the party on May 20 did not violate any rules.

Some Conservative lawmakers have criticized Johnson for not apologizing enough. Others see his participation in the May 20 party as a reason enough for his resignation. “I said yesterday that if the Prime Minister had admitted to joining the party he could not stay in his place: reluctantly, I must say, his position is no longer valid,” said Douglas Ross for example. , the flagship match of the Scottish section.

Former immigration minister Caroline Noakes in Theresa May’s government ITV Johnson “has become a burden, and the party must decide whether to send him home now or wait three years for the next election.”

“He’s hurting us now, he’s hurting the entire Conservative brand”
@CarolineNokes calls on @BorisJohnson to resign.
#peston pic.twitter.com/h2Xzj2NN54

— Peston (@itvpeston) 12 January 2022

Johnson has been experiencing the most complicated period of his tenure as prime minister for weeks.

Apart from a series of petty scandals, of which the party organization in his office is only the latest, many commentators believe that his government action is essentially over. “What frustrates his supporters is that this is more of a standoff than a crisis,” She wrote a few weeks agoeconomist: « On several fronts, the revolution promised by Johnson during Brexit talks in 2019 and in the election campaign has stalled. The idea that Johnsonism could be a new model of government, like Thatcherism and Blairism, now seems wrong.”

Johnson managed to win the 2019 election by positioning himself as the leader of the Conservatives and focusing on a few strong points, including the idea of ​​making the United Kingdom an increasingly predictable country outside of Europe, best companies and Capable of attracting individual talents. from all over the world, and anyone to do business with; At the same time, more attention was paid to the internal regions of the country, which had voted en masse to leave the European Union.

On these fronts, regarded by commentators as the pillars of “Johnsonism”, no significant progress has been made and it does not appear that there will be any soon. Worse, Britain’s economic situation looks increasingly precarious, especially because of Brexit.

Budget Responsibility Office Estimates (OBR), an independent government agency, UK GDP contracted 0.5 per cent in the first four months of 2021 due to confusion and restructuring caused by the new trade deal between the UK and European Union countries; And in the long run, Brexit will cost the UK economy about 4 percent of GDP, the economy is basically pauseThe inland region still awaits the attention and investment announced by Johnson, and the prime minister’s public image is now damaged by broken promises and his administration’s relentless scandals.

Its popularity rate is now from 23 percent, after having been reduced by about twenty points compared to the summer: Conversation he points out That many British prime ministers were far more popular than they were at the time of their resignations.

There is open discussion inside and outside the Conservative Party about who could replace Johnson in the coming weeks or months. The two names that circulate the most are Economy Minister Rishi Sunak and the head of British Brexit negotiators Liz Truss.