Boris Johnson is losing support in his party after a bizarre speech, a controversial law and a new donation scandal.
"Damn it," rants Berlin too.
London - A visibly flabbergasted reporter asked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about his mental state after he had finished his most bizarre speech - and there have been quite a few now. “Are you all right?” The media representative wanted to know, because the Brexit minister talked for minutes about his visit to a children's theme park, compared himself to Moses, alluded to the communist revolutionary leader Lenin and imitated engine noises. Again and again he searched for his text amid muttered apologies.
"Embarrassing", "humiliating" and "shocking": the response to Johnson's speech was devastating.
Even the conservative media, traditionally sympathetic to Johnson, quoted at length the reactions of anonymous MPs from his own party.
However, it was by no means the only spicy thing the British Prime Minister had to read about himself and his party in the newspaper today.
Quirky speech, controversial reform and then a donation scandal: Johnson in the crossfire
Conservative MPs attended a dinner for Tory donors that was said to have cost thousands of pounds per table,
according to the
Daily Mirror
.
From there they rushed to Parliament to vote for Johnson's controversial nursing reform.
According to the opposition, it could force poor people to sell their homes in order to pay for their care.
Johnson's backing in his own party is dwindling dramatically.
For the first time, calls for resignation were loud.
“I think the Prime Minister needs to reconsider his position.
He should announce his retirement in January, "the PA news agency quoted a Tory MP as saying.
The vote on Johnson's care reform also reveals gaps behind the government bank in parliament: 19 conservatives voted against, dozens more abstained.
Despite a luscious majority, Johnson barely got the bill through the House of Commons.
Scandal weeks for Boris Johnson: "The car drove into the ditch"
For Johnson, this Monday is the latest negative high point. Corruption and nepotism have dominated the headlines among MPs for weeks. When a parliamentary committee tried to suspend a fellow member of Johnson's party for 30 days, the prime minister forced his parliamentary group to vote for a change in the regulations. A day later he had to row back: he had "drove the car into the ditch", Johnson admitted guiltily.
But apart from allegations of corruption and donation scandals, there is a lot going on in the Johnson government: due to the consequences of Brexit and the corona pandemic, there is no economic recovery.
More migrants are entering the UK illegally via the English Channel than ever before.
Supply chain problems are fueling concerns on the island that gifts and traditional Christmas feasts may be in jeopardy.
Boris Johnson angered Berlin: SPD man chooses unusual words - "Damn it!"
In view of the halting negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol, Berlin is also gradually losing patience with Johnson: European Minister of State Michael Roth (SPD) appealed to the British government on Tuesday in Brussels to "come to their senses". "We damn well want to work together in a spirit of partnership and friendship," he said on the sidelines of consultations with his EU colleagues in a language that is unusual for diplomats.
Roth accused London of failing to comply with the agreements made under the Northern Ireland Protocol about a year ago.
"It shouldn't be that difficult," he added.
The EU Commission recently proposed to London that the customs controls be eased by around 80 percent, which Great Britain is supposed to carry out since Brexit for deliveries of goods to Northern Ireland.
With this, the EU wants to ensure that European standards are not undermined.
Because Northern Ireland with its open border to the EU member Ireland is de facto still part of the European single market despite the British exit.
However, London has not yet carried out many of the agreed customs controls and justified this with supply difficulties with food or medicines in Northern Ireland.
(jo / dpa)
