The British Prime Minister’s entourage is looking for a mysterious photographer who watched Boris Johnson, who was resting with his future wife and assistants in his garden.
The company relaxed with wine on the terrace of the premier’s residence in May 2020, as the British sat on a hard lockdown, not leaving their homes and not seeing family. The insidious photo was most likely taken from the windows of the office of Finance Minister Rishi Sunaka, one of the potential candidates for the prime minister’s seat. It is unclear whether the minister has anything to do with this story, but some of Johnson’s subordinates are obviously and very seriously angry.
Scandals have never been the engine of British politics, although they may well be a catapult. With the help of video recording of a passionate hug in the corner of the office, Matt Hancock, who was in love with Assistant Secretary of Health, was demolished. Now a stream of evidence from last year’s parties has fallen on Johnson’s head, forcing him to get out and instruct those who actually conducted them to organize ridiculous “internal investigations.”
Johnson’s inner-party trump card was the victory of the Conservatives in the previous elections under the slogan of imminent Brexit. Now the ratings of the ruling party have gone down. Last week, the British Liberal Democrats, seemingly pushed into the corner of the political map, won the by-election in the guaranteed “conservative” district of North Shropshire. And this is not the only signal that the state of affairs is bad.
The departure from the government of the main negotiator with the European Union, David Frost, was a tangible blow.
Formally, Frost left under the pretext of disagreeing with the additional restrictions that Johnson introduces because of COVID-19. However, in his farewell letter, he clearly indicated that he was not satisfied with the course the prime minister chose today:
“You know my concern about the current direction”.
Tax haven and “Singapore-on-Thames” taxes are being raised in the country, no positive changes are visible in the economy, but everyone felt the lack of labor, had time to face an energy crisis and even a shortage of gasoline.
Speaking on behalf of the British cabinet, this summer Frost demanded a radical change in the protocol signed with the European Union on Northern Ireland. After strong pulls from the US and the threat of a trade war with the EU, Johnson was forced to back down from these demands. From now on, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will take over as Frost’s tough negotiator. Incidentally, she is also considered a possible replacement for the prime minister who is losing ground. The routes are taking more and more powers into their own hands. The woman’s leadership ambitions were raised after she showed off on a Thatcher-style tank in Estonia, near the Russian border. It is possible that she was deliberately transplanted “from the armor” into the minefield of European politics, where Britain has not yet managed to find a reasonable compromise largely due to distrust of Johnson himself, who, among other things, is inclined to defame and cover up people like him.
Prior to the mass media leaking of secret parties by his associates, Johnson had tried unsuccessfully to defend former Minister Owen Paterson, who lobbied in violation of parliamentary norms. To this corruption scandal can be added accusations against the prime minister himself about the expensive renovation of his office apartments, done at the expense of sponsors. Although Johnson is said to be a crisis man, all of this causes significant discomfort.
There is no direct threat of resignation for Johnson, even though more than a hundred Conservative MPs voted against his proposed tightening of measures to combat covid. In the current scenario, Johnson will still overcome the vote of no confidence quite easily, and even remain “untouchable” after that for a whole year. Not the best scenario for his opponents.
It is more profitable for them to wait, because the chaos in the British cabinet is only growing.
The clockwork was launched even when Johnson became head of government. In place of the failed Brexit, Theresa May needed a person who could drive through all the problems with a skating rink. And, apart from Johnson, there were no such people in the ruling party at that moment. In addition, fortunately for him, due to his vague position on the country’s exit from the EU, Jeremy Corbin, the former leader of the opposition, completely lost all points. But further – when not slogans were needed, but real actions – Johnson did not pull.
The number of scandals around his name is only growing, which forms a vicious circle: they first push, and then arise as a result of active searches for a replacement. Judging by the reactions of Johnson himself, he intends to defend himself to the last, but it is easy to lose allies in such a situation, as the experience of his predecessors has shown.
Alexander Khabarov, RIA