Bad luck haunts the British prime minister at every turn. After the joy of celebrating Johnson’s lockdown became known, his previously close Brexit minister, David Frost, has also resigned. And suddenly Boris Johnson is there alone.
It all sounded great at the beginning – at least Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson did his best. In his first official speech as Prime Minister in the House of Commons in London in 2019, he described it as his task to lead the British out of the EU. He wanted to make the country the greatest on earth. His rhetoric, peppered with superlatives, is strongly reminiscent of that of ex-US President Donald Trump. The EU watched both with skepticism. Rightly so, as it turns out now at the latest.
In his speech, Boris Johnson had promised the British to make Britain the most successful economy in Europe by 2050. There is still a long time until then – but given the dramatic challenges the country is currently facing, Johnson will have to use every second to lead the country out of the crisis. Brexit is a burden for the economy and consumers, and life in the UK has become even more expensive. The pandemic put the icing on the cake. Supply and delivery bottlenecks have worsened since then. And yet the effects of Brexit will be more serious than the pandemic, estimates the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
But the country is not only challenged economically. Politically, too, the UK is on a losing streak. The prime minister’s support is crumbling. The reason: While Johnson and some party colleagues spent the lockdown at parties and the prime minister toying with stricter pandemic measures, the Tory MPs are slowly turning away from him.
Brexit minister resigns
Like David Frost. The Brexit minister announced his resignation on Saturday. Actually, Frost did not plan to resign until January. According to the “Mail on Sunday”, Frost should have submitted his resignation about a week ago. Johnson persuaded him to stay in office until January. After the planned resignation became public, Frost announced in a letter to the prime minister that he would resign “with immediate effect”.
“It is disappointing that this plan became known this evening, and under the circumstances I consider it right to declare my immediate resignation in writing,” the PA news agency quoted from the letter. Johnson regretted the move and wrote that Frost should be proud of his historic service to the government.
Frost, also a member of the British House of Lords, is considered a hardliner towards the European Union. From July 2019, he led the negotiations with Brussels on the Brexit Agreement and the implementation of the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol for London. The protocol stipulates that Northern Ireland will de facto remain in the European internal market and the customs union, which means that British imports into this part of the country must be controlled by customs. Above all, London was bothered by the fact that the EU’s Supreme Court in Luxembourg has the authority to interpret the implementation of the agreement.
“Brexit is now secured,” wrote Frost in his letter. However, the government continues to face the challenge of seizing the opportunities. Frost cited “concerns about the current direction of the road” as the reason for his resignation. He was sad that the lifting of the Covid restrictions had not turned out to be “irreversible” as promised. “I hope we can get back on track soon.” Building a new relationship with the EU will be a “long-term task”.
The premier of the scandals
According to the Mail on Sunday report, the departure was due to frustration over recent government policy decisions, including the introduction of highly controversial 3G certificates (vaccinated, recovered or tested) for clubs and major events Last week nearly 100 Conservative MPs Johnson refused to vote, and the higher spending on the road to climate neutrality and tax hikes are said to be a thorn in the side of frost.
Frost’s resignation exacerbates the crisis for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is shrouded in scandals. Last week his Tories suffered a heavy defeat in a by-election in the conservative heartland of North Shropshire. The result sparked shock waves in the party. In addition, the country is slipping into the largest wave of infections to date since the outbreak of the corona pandemic. But for tough Corona measures, the prime minister is increasingly lacking the support of his own party and – in view of the increasing number of reports of lockdown violations in the government – also the moral authority.
“Lord Frost’s resignation could not have come at a worse time for Johnson,” writes the ITV television station on its website. Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen described Frost’s resignation on the Times radio station as “a devastating blow to the government and the Prime Minister”. He wrote on Twitter: “The Prime Minister is running out of time and friends to keep his promises and the discipline of the true conservative government.”
Boris Johnson would only have two options: to change or to leave. In any case, the Tories would have to go back to the conservative policies for which they were elected. And the prime minister must seriously consider whether he wants to support this change or not. David Frost’s resignation is a turning point. “It feels like old Boris Johnson, whom we knew and loved from previous years, has been kidnapped,” Bridgen told ITV.
Does Johnson really have to go?
Party colleagues expressed themselves similarly. In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, Danny Kruger and Miriam Cates stressed that their party must change. “We find ourselves confronted with various allegations of rule violations, while the country itself is in a swamp of rules and regulations that damage the social and economic fabric of our nation. Our supporters are embarrassed by the former, tired by the latter, and angry by both. ” Other Tory MPs were in favor of Johnson’s resignation if more mistakes were made and the prime minister did not change course.
When asked about this, Johnson replies: “We are now focusing on doing our job. That means we are making sure that we not only have the fastest vaccination and booster campaign in Europe as we have done so far, but that we are also in are able to avert the harmful effects of Omikron with the “Get Boosted” campaign. ” That is what he is concentrating on and that is exactly what the population currently wants.
Johnson’s support within his own ranks began to crumble in October when he tried to save former Tory MP Owen Paterson from suspension. This had violated the lobby rules. The MPs were coerced into supporting Paterson. The government later decided to suspend it.
There was also displeasure about promises broken by the prime minister, among other things, to expand the railway lines in the north of the country and to increase social security to finance social reforms. Most recently, Johnson drew the party’s anger after it was revealed that he was partying in lockdown. Last week 100 MP voted against the corona passport proposed by Johnson. And in the fight against the Omicron variant, which Johnson wants to contain with stricter measures, resistance is already stirring.
It is questionable whether Britain will become the “greatest economy” in Europe anytime soon. In any case, Boris Johnson is still trying to do his best in his own way.
Sources: With material from DPA & AFP,,,
Source From: Stern
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