The British lose confidence in Boris Johnson's government in the Corona crisis. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are turning away, and there are clashes between the police and demonstrators in London.
- Coronavirus pandemic *: Britain is the country in Europe with the most Sars CoV-2 infected and the most corona dead .
- There are initial easing of the exit restrictions - but criticism of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's corona policy is growing rapidly.
- Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales no longer follow government policies - protests and violent police arrests in London .
Munich / London - Boris Johnson knows only too well how dangerous Covid-19 really is. The British prime minister had contracted the coronavirus himself and even had to go to the intensive care unit of a hospital for treatment.
He is therefore not spared: In the Corona crisis , criticism of his policy to tackle the immense challenges grows in Great Britain .
Corona in the UK: Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are turning away
Even more: the mood in the United Kingdom is changing rapidly between Edinburgh, London, Cardiff and Belfast .
Controversial: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
© AFP / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS
The British parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have largely turned away from the requirements of the English capital and are pursuing their own path in relaxing the exit restrictions.
The fear of a second corona wave is great. According to official figures, the United Kingdom has had the greatest number of deaths and infections in the coronavirus pandemic for some time in the European corona crisis .
Corona pandemic in Europe: nowhere else more Covid 19 deaths than in Great Britain
As of Sunday evening, May 17 (6:45 p.m.), according to Johns Hopkins University, more than 34,500 people with Covid 19 disease had died - with hundreds more corona deaths every day . In total, more than 40,000 deaths have been linked to the insidious lung disease.
And yet many people are drawn outside. Local authorities in English coastal regions and other rural areas therefore asked city tourists to stay away on Saturday (May 16).
"Think carefully," said the County Council Network (CCN) website , an association of 36 rural districts.
Coronavirus pandemic in Great Britain: Johnson government fears second wave of corona
For good reason: nature parks and beaches were overrun in March, shortly before the exit restrictions were introduced. Prime Minister Johnson does not get away well in this mixed situation.
He is accused that his corona policy is too vague, according to the German press agency , many people in Great Britain find the guidelines to be unclear and inconsistent.
I know this will not be easy - the first baby steps are never. But I hope that when we look back, the changes we have made this week will be seen as an important moment on the road to our nation's recovery.https: //t.co/hEdg4k2333
- Boris Johnson #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) May 17, 2020"I know that this will not be easy - the first baby steps are never," Johnson wrote in his typical manner on Twitter: "But I hope that the changes that we have made this week, in retrospect, as an important moment to be viewed as."
Corona crisis in Great Britain: Boris Johnson makes himself vulnerable with statements
In a guest post for Mail on Sunday , the 55-year-old British Prime Minister patiently called for the easing : “We are trying something that has never been done before - to lead the country out of a complete lockdown in a way that is safe and not ours putting hard work at risk. "
He did not underestimate how difficult it was for everyone “to be cut off from friends and parents, children and grandchildren, brothers and sisters. (...) We live from social contacts and from those we love to have around us - that's in human nature, ”he continued.
Citizens of London meet in St. James Park on May 17th during the Corona Pandemic.
© AFP / GLYN KIRK
But even with this open letter he made himself vulnerable. For example, at one point it was said strangely: “The message is: work from home if you can, but go to work if you can't. And avoid public transportation when you can, but use it when you can't. ”
Coronavirus crisis in the UK: Approval of corona policy topples
According to a poll conducted by Opinium polling institute on May 17, support for Johnson's actions continues to plummet .
According to this, 42 percent of those surveyed were dissatisfied with the reaction of the conservative government to the coronavirus outbreak . Only 39 percent of the citizens were behind the decisions on Downing Street.
In London's Hyde Park, however, there were protests over the weekend in which police officers - often without face masks * and gloves - had to break up groups through individual arrests. If Johnson does not get a uniform line in his corona policy , Great Britain will soon face the next government crisis after the chaos surrounding Brexit.
In Germany, meanwhile, further easing steps are being debated - a prime minister has even given a possible date for visiting the stadium.
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* Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network