Just a year ago, Boris Johnson was the King of the United Kingdom. Elections are about to be held in the country, he was already prime minister since July and was about to revalidate his position with a large majority that would allow him, finally, to fulfill his dream of Brexit, his great bet for years that had been delayed more than expected and that he, at the head of the British Government, was going to carry out after several extensions. His party fully trusted him, the opposition fell to levels unprecedented in decades … Everything was smiling at him. However, as in any palace plot, the lust for power, conspiracies and desertions could not be absent. And, to this day, Johnson, barely a year after touching glory with his fingers, is submerged in a well from which, not without encountering many obstacles, he tries to get out.
The management of the health crisis unleashed by the pandemic is taking its toll on the conservative president. He himself was infected with coronavirus and, according to sources close to him, he came to fear for his life. It was, precisely, living the disease in his flesh that made him change the course of his policies to contain the expansion of COVID and the tightening of measures in recent weeks have led him to a large part of the deputies of his party have taken up arms.
And, while in the parliamentary group the dissonant voices begin to sound more and more loudly, in the palace itself – in this case, the official residence of Downing Street – the desertions have left the president in the most absolute abandonment. In the midst of the pandemic and with the materialization of Brexit just around the corner, the premier He has been left without his two most loyal advisers – Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain – who have fled after being betrayed by another pillar of the leader: his own fiancee, Carry Symonds.
Known as Johnson’s Rasputin, Cummings had become one of the most hated men in the British political class. His task was to be the shadow of the president, his most faithful advisor and, according to many, he was in charge of managing the strings of a puppet that he had been making since the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign.
His departure from Downing Street, which distressed very few members of the Cabinet, came just hours after the resignation of Cain, also Johnson’s squire in preparation for the separatist consultation, who resigned as Communications Director after failing in his endeavor. to occupy the post of Chief of Staff, which would have given him more power.
That internal war that analysts point to, who see a “duel of egocentric personalities” with Cummings and Symonds leading each side, had a clear winner. They say that it was the president’s girlfriend who pressed to prevent Cain’s promotion with damaging information against him and his head of ranks, who just hours later joined the resignations.
Which has been good news for many, as conservatives and opposition accused Johnson of “relying too much” on Cummings, for the premier It has meant a whole revolution in its circle, which it must rebuild at a forced march before new tensions arise.
Sin trump
And it is that, on the eve of the final divorce of the United Kingdom and the EU, the conservative leader is seeing his leadership questioned, not only in the ranks of his party -55 Tory deputies rebelled against the Executive and voted against of his confinement plan-, but also among an increasingly fed-up citizenry. Proof of the latter are the massive demonstrations that have taken place in recent weeks to reject the restrictions due to the pandemic.
On British soil, it is not ruled out that a motion of censure may be filed against the president with the entry of the new year, once the total break with the community bloc is consolidated. A group that is increasingly removed from London and that could turn its back on its partner until now.
To make matters worse, the defeat of Donald Trump opens a new stage of relations with the United States – which seems more complicated, since until now Johnson had a firm ally in the White House.
And all this he will face alone. Or with a new team that, perhaps, will advise you better than the one you have had so far. Things grind slowly. But Johnson doesn’t exactly have time to spare.
– .
