Perón and Evita in the British government? Suspicions and doubts about an article on Boris Johnson

In the midst of the holiday scandal at the official Downing St. residence in the midst of a pandemic, when virtually all of Britain was in lockdown, another storm front seems to open up for Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2020.

For now they are nothing more than suspicion and speculation. But one fact has attracted the attention of some journalists and observers in recent days.

According to the Spanish newspaper The vanguardin an article by his London correspondent, Rafael Ramos, a “scoop” involving the prime minister and his current wife, Carrie Johnson, “disappeared” from a British newspaper that had published it in a first edition.

It happened, according to this source, in Times, and in the online edition of Daily mail.

Political problems

The information indicated that Boris Johnson, when he was Foreign Minister in 2018, had tried to give his then mistress, Carrie Symonds, a position in the Foreign Office, with “an annual salary of € 120,000 paid by the taxpayer.” according to The vanguard.

But that exclusive note didn’t have much scope. The newspaper Daily mail did not provide any explanation for having “deleted” the information. TimesIn the meantime, he spoke of “legal problems”, but without giving details.

Both publications – one owned by Rupert Murdoch and the other by Alfred Harmsworth – support Johnson’s Conservative Party.

In the circles of the English press, according to the correspondent of the Catalan daily, it is assured that Downing Street, seeing the published text, has mobilized and he called the owners of the newspapers to ask (or demand) their withdrawal, if they wanted to continue to rely on their trust. The prime minister denies.

Comparison with Peron

The head of the British government has already been compared to many people, but until now never to Juan Domingo Perón (although they agree on populism). And Carrie Symonds isn’t a former actress like Evita. But now the Daily telegraphanother outlet clearly right-wing but disappointed with tax increases and Johnson’s entire economic policy drew that parallel.

Remember the former Argentine president The vanguardhe strove to get his wife into politics and in 1949 appointed her leader of the women’s wing of the Peronist party.

And, he adds, Boris Johnson has also been looking for positions for his current wife, especially in the environment.

Johnson, as seen in the partygate incident, appears to have a very peculiar moral sense, according to his critics.

So much so that two councilors for ethical issues have resigned, and the premier is considering the possibility of eliminating the office.

So it may have seemed normal to him, as chancellor and then married to his second wife, Marina Wheeler, to put a much younger girl, Carrie, into his ministry, who was an emerging figure in the Conservative Party’s communications department four years ago. And, according to the local press, she was her lover. They are now married and have two children.

The allegation originally appeared in a Johnson biography published by Lord Ashcroft and had gone largely unnoticed.

But Times elaborated on its Saturday issue in an article on page 5 of the first edition signed by Simon Walters, who had been a political editor of the Daily mail until he fell out of favor with the latest takeover (the newspaper practically became a government spokesperson) and now works as a freelancer.

But the text disappeared from subsequent editions and was never published in its online edition (the Daily mail published on the web, but not on paper).

international media such as New York Times and like the British Guardianwho supports the Labor opposition, echoed the mystery, presenting it as a clear example of Johnson’s control over the press of the British right (and that many media are very critical of the partygate and the economic course of the kingdom), according to The vanguard.

The article, according to British press sources, was well founded. But unlike in the United States and other countries, in a libel or defamation case the burden of proof falls on the journalist and the newspaper, and they have to prove that the story is correct.

It is possible that the Times and the Daily Mail, intimidated by lawyers of Downing Street, they wanted no further complications.

The missing article is a story of love, ambition, intrigue and corruption typical of Shakespeare, says the correspondent of The vanguard. Or from a musical. Evita had her own and was idolized by the Argentine working class. Some wonder if Carrie Johnson will be so lucky.