The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Boris Johnson's interim gets organized

2020-04-07T18:13:04.688Z


The British Prime Minister's state of health was "stable" on Tuesday evening and he was breathing without mechanical help, while his team, around the Minister for Foreign Affairs, ensured the continuity of the state.


In London

After fearing for the health of the queen, in the wake of the contamination of Prince Charles, the British find themselves unexpectedly hanging from their Prime Minister's health reports. The announcement of Boris Johnson's entry into the intensive care unit on Monday evening put the country in shock, a personal battle in addition to that waged by the nation. And it was Elizabeth II who sent a message of support to his prime minister and his relatives on Tuesday.

Read also: Dominic Raab, a karateka facing the coronavirus

The news was rather reassuring, Tuesday early in the evening, without further deterioration in his state of health. Boris Johnson is in a " stable state " and keeps a " good morale ", assured the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who took over at the peak of power. He receives standard oxygen treatment and breathes without any other assistance. He did not need mechanical ventilation or non-invasive breathing aid , ”said Dominic Raab.

Oxygen supply

The 55-year-old prime minister was admitted to St. Thomas Hospital on Sunday evening when he has been suffering from coronavirus symptoms for ten days. And it was twenty-four hours later that he was transferred to intensive care. His services said he had received an oxygen supply upon his arrival, but that this transfer was a precautionary measure, in case the Prime Minister needs to be placed on artificial respiration.

His relatives also wanted to be reassuring by pointing out that Boris Johnson had good general health before being infected with the coronavirus. It is thus recalled that he regularly plays tennis and that he tried his hand at yoga and pilates sessions at Downing Street. He had also started to lose weight, according to a wish that he himself expressed. He is also not a smoker.

It was a shock to all of us.

Dominic Raab

Until the Prime Minister recovers, the permanence of power rests in part on the shoulders of Dominic Raab . The Minister of Foreign Affairs has been provisionally appointed head of the executive. " The government will not blink or back down from the task at hand, " he said. And this while the country experienced a sad record of deaths linked to the virus in twenty-four hours, with 854 deaths, which brings the total toll to more than 6000 deaths. Visibly moved, Raab added, “ It was a shock to all of us. It is not only a Prime Minister, not only our boss, but also a colleague and also our friend. "

The contours of this interim remain unclear and the press wonders who holds all the powers of the 5th world power during the hospitalization of Boris Johnson. The United Kingdom has no written succession rule in the event of the Prime Minister's incapacity to exercise his office. There is therefore no official role of Deputy Prime Minister or Acting Prime Minister. According to the think-tank Institute for Government (IfG), the minister informally appointed to replace the head of government does not automatically take over if he dies. The government can thus collectively decide to recommend a successor to the Queen.

Read also: Queen Elizabeth's television speech was followed by 24 million English

According to the official formula, Boris Johnson asked Dominic Raab to replace him " when it was necessary ". But Michael Gove claimed that " the Prime Minister remains the Prime Minister ", suggesting that Raab did not have full powers. Gove, another pillar of Boris Johnson's team, has in turn placed himself in solitary confinement, a family member with symptoms of coronavirus.

Important decisions linked to the health crisis will have to be taken quickly. Decreed on March 23, the confinement of the British runs until next week and we will have to decide whether to renew it or not. Michael Gove assured that the decision - like the others - would be taken " collectively" . Dominic Raab also spoke of " collegial " decisions. A way of suggesting that for the time being Boris Johnson is able to arbitrate.

On a solemn tone, the chairman of the parliamentary defense committee, Tobias Ellwood, worried about " adversaries who would try to exploit any supposed weakness" in the country while the Prime Minister is hospitalized. Previously, ministers had refused to say who had the final decision to use nuclear weapons, a prerogative of the head of government. Again, Michael Gove responded that there were “ well-established protocols” .

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-04-07

You may like

News/Politics 2024-01-31T15:39:07.183Z
News/Politics 2024-03-23T06:43:53.714Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.