It’s a crucial day in Westminster for Boris Johnson. Did the ex-Prime Minister lie to the British Parliament? How many Tories follow his confrontational course against successor Sunak? The answers are likely to define Johnson’s political future.
Boris Johnson should like the fact that people are looking primarily at him again. The former prime minister from the Conservatives is back at the center of British politics twice this Wednesday. But the big stage, a good six months after he was forced to leave Downing Street, also poses great dangers for the 58-year-old populist and narcissist. Winner or loser of the day – both extremes are possible. Curtain up on the Boris show!
Johnson has admitted false information
On the one hand, there is the “Partygate” affair, which is catching up with the ex-government. Has Johnson, long labeled a notorious liar by critics, deliberately lied to the House of Commons by stressing during the pandemic that Downing Street would follow the Corona rules at all times – despite new details about illegal lockdown parties emerging almost daily?
Clarifying that is the task of the Privileges Committee, a parliamentary committee before which Johnson had to appear in the afternoon. He has now admitted false information. But he strictly rejects any intent. The committee has no evidence for that. Johnson has already spent more than £220,000 (€250,000) in tax money on his defence.
Johnson and Truss are against the Northern Ireland deal
At the same time, the lower house is voting on the Northern Ireland agreement, which the incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak concluded after a long dispute with the EU. But Brexit hardliners and Northern Irish Unionists are railing against the agreement, which is intended to facilitate trade between the British provinces and the rest of the United Kingdom. Johnson has now headed the party’s internal opposition. In the morning he announced that he would vote against Sunak’s agreement. The important thing now is how many Tory members follow their former leader.
For the ex-Prime Minister, who has never hidden his ambitions to return to Downing Street, his future is at stake. “Johnson will try desperately today to keep the flame of his political career alive,” commented the conservative online portal “Unherd”. The well-connected “Times” reporter Steven Swinford speaks of a “test of strength” for both Sunak and Johnson. Some suspect calculation: Sunak wants to get rid of his internal adversary. “The fact that (both dates) are scheduled for the same day suggests that Number 10 wants to symbolically bury him politically in one day,” Sky News correspondent Sam Coates tweeted.
Johnson is still regarded, above all by the conservative base, as the best campaigner who could still lead the Tories from the currently hopeless polling low to victory in the 2024 election. But the number of his supporters is dwindling. “Voters once loved his lies, but claiming he didn’t understand his own rules has turned him into yet another dodgy politician,” commented The Times columnist Daniel Finkelstein.
Johnson could lose his mandate
In its interim report, the Privileges Committee made it clear that it must have been “obvious” to Johnson that Corona rules had been broken at Downing Street. In one case, Johnson himself received a fine. Newly released documents also contradict Johnson’s claims that employees assured him that the meetings were legal.
Should the seven-member committee from all major parties decide that Parliament has been lied to, MPs will decide on a suspension – which could eventually see Johnson lose his seat altogether. He doesn’t have much backing: Sunak has already made it clear that there will be no faction coercion in such a case.
For today’s prime minister, a political exit from his predecessor would mean a boost. With solid measures, he has steered the once scandal-ridden British politics into calmer waters. “Every day that Sunak does a good job as Prime Minister, the prospects of Johnson’s comeback diminish,” the online portal “Politico” quoted a Sunak-loyal Tory as saying. The ex’s disruptive maneuvers come at the wrong time. Another Conservative MP called the excitement surrounding Johnson a “circus”. “It’s going to hurt us in the polls. It’s very, very frustrating.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
