London – Although he made a promise to resist in office, the extent of the image crisis and humiliation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the last 24 hours left one of the most popular politicians in British history with no alternative but to resign. this morning..
Rumors about the resignation started early, with TV stations broadcasting live news from outside the British government head’s headquarters, a sign that something was going to happen. At around 9am, he confirmed that a co-leader would address the nation.
At 12:30 p.m. (local time) Johnson left the residence and spoke on the podium in a tone that characterized him, announcing his departure from government, thanking the large majority received in the 2019 election, so he decided to stay. even in crisis and valuing your achievements.
Boris Johnson resigns after months of crisis
He said he tried to convince the party that it was important to move on, but was unsuccessful and that’s why he left. In the background, the booing of protesters gathered in the street could be heard.
The speech was not as emotional as that of her predecessor, Theresa May. But like him, she said she was grateful to have “the best job in the world.” He remained optimistic about the country’s future, emphasizing the risks of the Ukrainian war and the need to advance development.
It remains to be determined whether Johnson will remain in office until a new prime minister is elected under the Conservative Party, as he wishes, or whether a temporary replacement will take over the government, as advocated by the big names in the party. .
But he tries to resist it. Before his resignation, he appoints several new ministers to vacancies, signaling the formation of a new cabinet that will ensure he continues to run the country until a new leader is elected, which may not happen until October.
Unlike other politicians who have faced opposition in office due to corruption or poor performance, the crisis that led to Boris Johnson’s resignation was essentially a crisis of image, the result of an explosive combination of denying facts, giving fragile or thought-out statements, which would later be verified. ruthless to the public, covering up bad practices from friends, and lying in the seat of Parliament.
His stay in office has been classified as impossible by politicians, journalists and the public, but until last night he stuck to his position, even in the face of an unprecedented confluence of ministers and close aides that no other leader in the country has faced. . . .
Today, some newspapers took the situation with irony, made a pun on the slogan “Finish Brexit” used for Brexit, and replaced Brexit with the word “exit”, exit. In all, however, there was an undertone of acknowledgment of the impossibility of Johnson continuing in office.
A wave came after Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Minister Sajid Javid left their posts on Tuesday, shooting the leader. 45 people wanted to leave last night. Before the resignation there were almost 60 people.
Those who left did not do this carefully. The resignation letters criticize Boris Johnson’s behavior, especially in an episode that featured Conservative Party deputy leader Chris Pincher, who was accused of harassing men in a private bar last week.
The prime minister’s image crisis had already been worsening for several months, with the use of donations to renovate the official residence and scandals like Partygate being held at the government headquarters during the Covid lockdown.
And in theory, it would have nothing to do with the bad behavior of one of his party comrades. But what struck Johnson to death was proof that he knew about Pincher’s predatory sexual history and still held him in key positions.
He apologized Tuesday for appointing Pincher to the post, admitting he was notified of a complaint in 2019, and said he had made a “serious mistake”.
Voters think so too. The YouGov Institute published the results of a quick poll of 3,000 British adults taken the night Javid and Sunak resigned, showing that around 70% thought Johnson should resign as prime minister and only 18% should remain.
Even those who chose him in 2019 opposed permanence. The majority of 2019 Conservative voters (54%) think he should resign, and only 33% think he should stay.
SNAP POLL: Most Conservative voters – and two-thirds of Britons – say Boris Johnson should step down as Prime Minister
All Britons: 69% Resign / 18% Remain
2019 Con voters: 54% Resign / 33% Stay
For the first time, more Conservative voters want PM to stayhttps://t.co/EdF2u3hW1Z pic.twitter.com/CYDcJPZRiU
— YouGov (@YouGov) July 5, 2022
The crisis that led to Boris Johnson’s resignation is moral
Like the other episodes that created the crisis, this episode with Chris Pincher has a moral order. Despite succeeding in getting Brexit done to the satisfaction of most of the country and launching one of the best-known vaccine programs against covid in the world, Johnson was more worn out by his personal attitudes than by his government’s achievements.
The country is going through a cost of living crisis, but even that wasn’t as strong as the lack of trust in man Boris Johnson.
A massive image that began to be conquered when London was mayor and shone at the 2012 Olympics is trashing the capital. It was so popular and associated for positive reasons that the eco-friendly rental bikes offered in the city earned the nickname Boris. Bicycles.
This is not surprising for a man who worked as a journalist for leading British media outlets such as The Spectator and The Daily Telegraph before entering politics and wrote weekly columns until he became prime minister.
Boris took office in May 2019, taking advantage of the difficulties of then-Prime Minister Theresa May to negotiate a satisfactory deal for the UK’s departure from the European Union.
He was Secretary of State and left his post after shooting the boss, which precipitated May’s resignation.
Johnson ran for Labor leader and won, becoming prime minister. In a daring political move aimed at consolidating his position with the people, he called a general election for December of the same year and won one of the most notable electoral victories in recent history with 14 million votes, winning a majority of almost 150 seats. in parliament..
Then came covid-19, and like many other politicians, he was criticized for delaying stricter measures in early 2020.
However, while it did not prevent a greater number of deaths than many other countries with similar populations, it surpassed that with its vaccination program, which served to increase its popularity among the British by providing a light at the end of the tunnel. .
Johnson and Partygate
But the same covid that helped him was the beginning of the end of the partygate scandal, which refers to the Watergate case that cost American President Richard Nixon’s head in 1972.
But instead of espionage-related secrets, Partygate, which triggered the crisis that led to Boris Johnson’s resignation, revealed that during the covid-19 quarantine, London’s best nightclub was on Downing Street 10, the government and official residence. back-to-back parties with lots of alcohol.
Scotland Yard fined 82 people, including his wife Carrie, as well as Johnson. A total of 126 fines were issued.
News of under-disclosed donations for his home business had jeopardized Boris Johnson’s image before circulating party rumors began reporting based on credible media sources and evidence such as photographs or video.
But the issue of parties hit two sensitive points for the population: trust in the nation’s leader, and the pain of those who lost loved ones, jobs, or couldn’t find relatives and friends for months due to the strict quarantine.
When the news started to come out, Boris Johnson’s communications team and he were justifying it. like study sessions where the prime minister doesn’t attend anything unprofessional.
Also Read | Government parties undermine confidence in Boris Johnson and his intention to abide by ohmron inclusion restrictions during isolation
Then came a novelty with a four letter acronym: BOYB by Bring Your Own Booze. It was the icing on the cake for Boris Johnson’s “Partygate,” which would later be confirmed in Officer Sue Gray’s 60-page report.
The compromising acronym was in an email announced by broadcaster ITV. It was sent to more than 100 recipients by Johnson’s personal secretary, Martin Reynolds.
It was an invitation to a meeting taking advantage of the “nice weather” that took place on May 20, 2020. Just at the height of the crisis, the UK cries for the dead, hospitalizations and uncontrolled damage. covid.
At a Parliament session on January 12, the prime minister awkwardly apologized to the nation. One of the most criticized points in Johnson’s speech was the claim that the meeting will be held to get to know the work of the employees.
Johnson’s model was: deny first, confess later, and apologize when the truth comes out.
Johnson resisted pressure to resign
After receiving the sentence, the pressure to resign increased. This is the first time a prime minister has been fined while in office. This was not a requirement, but it was customary for a high-profile politician to resign when failure of this nature was proven.
But that didn’t happen, just as it didn’t after other episodes that further eroded the leader’s image.
Even acknowledging that Pincher knew about the complaint and the stories of sexual harassment last week wasn’t enough for the prime minister to accept the idea that his terms of office had deteriorated until this morning.
Minutes before Chancellor Sunak and Secretary Javid released their letters of resignation, Boris Johnson gave an interview with a modest apology. But the deterioration had already gone too far and leaving the Conservative Party was an impossible blow for key figures.
The pressure on public opinion is fierce, making it difficult to predict Boris Johnson’s political future. British MPs are elected by their communities, who directly watch their actions and tend to be more careful about what the politicians they vote for are doing.
But after what the Sky News presenter called a “Greek tragedy” in a broadcast this morning, the wear and tear on the image across the country is enormous. So even if re-elected Uxbridge and South Ruislip outside LondonIt has become a toxic name for the party and will likely resist placing it in the top spot.
In general, politicians no longer enjoy high popularity among the public. Despite this, Boris Johnson is now viewed by around 6 in 10 Brits as less trustworthy than his peers. Another 32% think everyone is the same, and only 3% find it more reliable than the average.
Most Britons think Boris Johnson is less honest than other politicians in Britain
More accurate – 3%
Less accurate – 57%
About the same – %32https://t.co/hPdsgMXaRi pic.twitter.com/oOXnop4QbT— YouGov (@YouGov) 6 July 2022
source: Noticias
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