Will British Prime Minister Boris Johnson remain in office despite all the scandals? And what does that mean for the Brexit dispute with the EU? From Brussels Bernd Riegert.
Harassed in the House of Commons: Premier Boris Johnson after the resignation of various ministers
During Question Time in the British House of Commons, the ailing Prime Minister Boris Johnson made it clear that he has no intention of resigning but wants to keep fighting. “They know very well that we will continue and that we will win the next election,” Johnson said, referring to the opposition Labor Party, which is demanding his resignation and accusing him of constant lies. Two important ministers from Johnson's cabinet resigned on Tuesday, followed by several state secretaries on Wednesday. They reject the Prime Minister's handling of illegal parties at Downing Street during the coronavirus pandemic. She is also outraged by Johnson's attempt to cover up a case of sexual harassment in the ranks of his Conservative party.
“Enough is enough”
Boris Johnson initially denied having known anything about the allegations against his employee Chris Pincher. He then admitted bit by bit that he was involved and apologized for his mistakes in a television interview on Tuesday. “Enough is enough,” said Sajid Javid in a personal statement today in the House of Commons. Sajid Javid resigned from his post as health minister on Tuesday. The Prime Minister's behavior was unfair to his staff, party members and voters, said ex-minister Javid.
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Brexit: British fishermen's frustration
Conservative parliamentarians, such as former Brexit commissioner David Davis, also called on Johnson to leave. But he remains unimpressed. “When times are tough, when there's a war in the middle of Europe, that's exactly the time for a government to get on with its job and not just run away,” the prime minister told his vocal critics in parliament. Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer's accusation that after the departure of his important ministers the prime minister was only surrounded by “nodding dogs”, i.e. yes-men, was countered by Boris Johnson. “There is a large pool of talented workers in the Conservative Party,” said the prime minister, suggesting that the resignations of other ministers would not affect him.
Could Boris Johnson's own people topple him?
The prime minister is in danger from within his own party. Allegedly the so-called 1922 Committee is about to send a delegation to Boris Johnson. This should make it clear to him that he no longer enjoys the trust of conservative parliamentarians and should resign. British media are reporting that the influential 1922 Committee could also provoke another vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson in the House of Commons. The prime minister had won an initial vote of no confidence three weeks ago.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, here with Vice President Maros Sefcovic, could succeed Boris Johnson
Former London Mayor Boris Johnson became Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister in 2019 after his predecessor Theresa May was overthrown by the 1922 Committee. May was unable to bring Brexit negotiations with the European Union to a close. Boris Johnson finally pushed through Brexit, the exit of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the EU. He signed the final contract with the EU, which he no longer wants to keep.
EU is suing London for breaching the Brexit rules
And this is where Europe comes in. The European Parliament debated Boris Johnson's government's refusal to abide by the Brexit deal on Wednesday, parallel to the government crisis in London. The provides certain rules for the movement of goods between Northern Ireland and the British mainland. The prime minister wants to unilaterally revoke these rules by law, which the European Union sees as a breach of a binding contract. The Vice-President of the EU Commission, Maros Sefcovic, confirmed in the European Parliament in Strasbourg that the EU will sue Great Britain and take further legal action, which could end in the imposition of sanctions.
MP Nathalie Loiseau: The problem is not Johnson, but Brexit
Sefcovic once again called on the government in London to negotiate the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit Treaty. “Our door for dialogue with the UK remains open. It is now up to the UK to step through that door,” Sefcovic said. Many MEPs have doubts as to whether the Brexit protocol can still be repaired in view of the government crisis in London.
“The problem isn't Northern Ireland, it's Brexit as such,” said French Liberal Nathalie Loiseau. German Green MEP Terry Reintke accused Boris Johnson of surrounding himself with a “group of unscrupulous people” who wanted to break international law out of their own interests. “Boris Johnson will stick to his post and do whatever it takes to keep him,” said left-wing MP Chris MacManus. “Britain is on the road to becoming a failing state,” said MacManus, who represents Ireland's Sinn Fein party in Parliament.
Protest by British nationalists in Northern Ireland against the Brexit rules
Low confidence in Boris Johnson
Would negotiations with a possible successor be easier for the EU? Jeroen Lenaers, Christian Democrat MEP from the Netherlands, is unsure. “It could get better, but it could also get worse because we don't know who would replace him,” said Lenaers at the first party-internal vote of no confidence in Johnson in June.
From the EU Commission in Brussels there is no official statement on the crisis in London. In private conversations, however, EU diplomats indicate that a new government in Great Britain would not necessarily be conducive to the Brexit negotiations. However, the trust in Boris Johnson, who no longer wants to stick to contracts he had negotiated himself, is gone in Brussels.