The end of Boris Johnson’s political career? | Parliament’s devastating report on its conduct in the epidemic

from London

the expected The parliamentary committee’s report on Boris Johnson’s behavior during the pandemic was devastating To the slim hopes of a political comeback for the former prime minister and now former Tory MP. The committee ruled that Johnson had deliberately misled Parliament about so-called “Partigates” (more than 100 parties and congregated at 10 Downing Street during lockdown) and was “complicit” in trying to “intimidate and abuse” the MPs responsible for the inquiry. the facts.

And the parliamentary committee, which has a conservative majority, pointed out that if they did not resign from their seat last Friday, Johnson reportedly received a 90-day suspension from the House of Commons, an unprecedented punishment in Britain’s long parliamentary history. And after he plunged the dagger even more into the former prime minister, he recommended that he not be granted the permit that former deputies usually obtain to gain access to parliament. His misleading the Chamber about the conduct of ministers and officials at the highest levels of government during a national emergency is extraordinarily serious. The report said that describing this committee as engaging in a witch-hunt is tantamount to attacking the foundations and foundations of our democratic institutions.

Johnson’s arguments

Following the parliamentary protocol of these investigations, The committee passed on to Johnson on Tuesday last week the bulk of the report. Johnson immediately returned to the country, and on Friday night shocked the public by resigning his seat and attacking the committee for its “apparent bias” aimed at “reversing Brexit” and “betraying the popular mandate”.

Johnson’s remarks did not sit well with even his allies, who felt the specter of his scandals would haunt the Conservatives for a long time. And it destroys any chance of a dignified victory or defeat in next year’s general elections. “The sooner he leaves, the better,” many in various media mumbled “unofficially.”evidence of the rise Johnson had not so much in Parliament, but in the Conservative base, many of whom believed he had been betrayed by the same Conservative MPs.

According to reports in the British press – both conservative and centre-left – parties were routinely held at 10 Downing Street almost every Friday to “chill your nerves”. (relax) and regularly for all kinds of occasions: farewells, birthdays, celebrations. In the same period – March 2020 to December 2021 – the rest of the British population remained in various levels of confinement, most of the time without being able to see their family, relatives and friends and strict regulations for going out in public emergencies. Cases – buying food or medicine – or for the so-called healthy exits (walking in the streets, picnicking in the wonderful British parks). According to the latest information, more than 227 thousand people have died of Covid in the UK.

In a live interview this morning with the BBC, Liz, a relative of the victims, said the ruling had restored her faith in Parliament. Only six people could attend my father’s funeral. My mother couldn’t even put a carnation in the coffin. We were not allowed to hug her. It was barbaric. There is no excuse for the government’s behavior.”

Bye Boris?

Johnson’s political career is that of a cat with seven lives: Suspended from his party, removed from his position as Chancellor and Prime Minister, with a dark past of verified lies during his previous incarnation as a journalist. Despite everything, he was twice elected Mayor of London and in the 2019 elections won an absolute parliamentary majority. At the time, the prediction of political futurists was that he would rule for the rest of the decade: from scandal to scandal it lasted just over two years.

In recent days, Johnson has tried to revive the same script that helped him reach the pinnacle of political power. First as the architect of the Brexit referendum in 2016 and then with the final signing of the agreement with the EU to exit which finally took place on 31 December 2021. As reiterated this week by Johnson himself and his dwindling group of allies in the House of Commons is a plot by Parliament, the BBC, officials Government, opposition and various other actors contribute numbers to measure the ongoing conspiracy.

There is nothing impossible in politics, but this time he seems to have gone too far: even his simple, friendly, awkward, dismissive manner at Oxford will give him no way out. In 2019, just before he became prime minister, his former Daily Telegraph editor, Conservative historian Max Hastings, was a daring man. “One may argue whether he is a complete scoundrel or a shameless rogue, but what is beyond doubt is that his moral and ethical standard is zero, a complete bankruptcy based on his complete disregard for the truth.”

In the last election, the Conservatives decided that a victory made up for that personal baggage. Since he resigned last Friday from office, almost no one has come out to his defense among the same MPs who voted for him and gave him a standing ovation. Most of them know that the “Johnson affair” is sinking them. “The pantomime has to stop,” one Conservative told The Observer on Sunday.

His fall from grace coincides with ordeals before Donald Trump’s justice who shares an extravagant style, never bound by truth, and a messy haircut that hides the formality of the suit. Is it necessary to have an instinctive distrust of politicians in this respect?