In just 24 hours, the bad news has grown at breakneck speed for the government of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The president faces a serious crisis of confidence on the part of the members of his own party that began on Tuesday with the resignation of the ministers of Economy and Health, to which by Wednesday afternoon the resignations of more than some thirty deputy ministers and other ministerial positions.
Thus, Johnson has become the British leader who has received the most resignations since 1932.
Despite this, the president has maintained his activities normally and this Wednesday, in fact, he appeared before a Parliament committee in which he made clear his intention to continue in government.
During the question session, Johnson dismissed questions that cast doubt on the viability of his government, stating that “of course” he would still be prime minister tomorrow.
“If you want to ask me what we’re doing to help people with the cost of living, if you ask what we’re doing to build more clean energy sources, something this committee has been interested in, then I’m very interested in tell them, but I am not going to give you a comment on political events and let’s continue with the government of the country“, he claimed.
The president also dismissed the possibility of calling early elections and said he sees no reason to do so before two years.
“A mistake”
The crisis that haunts Johnson was triggered by a sex scandal involving Chris Pincher, a Conservative MP close to the prime minister.
Johnson appointed Pincher as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party caucus in February.
On June 30, the British newspaper The Sun published a report according to which the then deputy leader of the Conservative Party caucus in Parliament, Chris Pincher, had groped two men in a private club in London.
Later, other similar accusations arose for acts allegedly that occurred in recent years.
After repeatedly pointing out that the prime minister did not know of any allegations against Pincher, the British government and Johnson himself admitted that he had been informed.
In an interview with the BBC on Tuesday, Johnson said: “There was a complaint that was brought to me specifically… it was a long time ago and it was brought to me orally. But that’s no excuse, I should have acted on it.”
The prime minister described as “a mistake” having appointed Pincher, whom he said had behaved “very, very badly”, for which he apologized to those affected.
“I want to make it clear that there is no place in this government for anyone who engages in predatory behavior or who abuses their position of power,” he said.
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