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Compared to Moses, imitated an engine:
Britain's Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
is under considerable pressure after a completely unsuccessful speech
Photo: TOBY MELVILLE / REUTERS
Even in Downing Street, British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
(57) is being blasphemed, albeit behind closed doors. The prime minister no longer has the store under control, the well-connected BBC reporter Laura Kuenssberg quoted a high-ranking source. A cabinet member told the Times that Johnson's utterly unsuccessful speech to the CBI was symbolic of the government's chaotic path.
Johnson himself even had to comment on his health in front of the camera.
"Are you all right?" Asked an audibly stunned reporter the prime minister.
Johnson is well known for bizarre comparisons and absurdly comical speeches - this is part of his shirt-sleeved style of government.
But what the head of government said on Monday in front of leading business representatives was only bizarre even by his standards.
In front of a stunned audience, the premier praised a theme park dedicated to the cartoon character Peppa Pig for several minutes.
He compared himself to Moses, alluded to the communist revolutionary leader Lenin, and imitated an engine.
In between he lost the thread for seconds and searched for his text amid muttered apologies.
Social reform just barely passes the House of Commons - despite a lush majority
The echo was devastating.
"Embarrassing", "humiliating", "shocking" - even the conservative media, traditionally sympathetic to Johnson, quoted at length the reactions of anonymous MPs from his own party.
Now the country is wondering whether the prime minister still enjoys the support of his Tories.
The answer: yes and no.
On Monday evening, 19 conservatives voted against Johnson's controversial social reform in parliament, but dozens more abstained.
Despite an actually lush majority, Johnson barely got the law through the House of Commons.
For many observers, that smells like a vote of no confidence.
Reports like the one in the "Daily Mirror" could reverberate even more.
Accordingly, Conservative MPs attended a dinner for Tory donors that is said to have cost thousands of pounds per table.
From there they rushed to parliament to vote for the reform, which the opposition believes could force poorer people to sell their homes in order to pay for their care.
Allegations of nepotism by the Tories are growing
For Johnson, it's the negative climax of recent times.
Due to the consequences of Brexit and the corona pandemic, there is no economic recovery.
Supply chain problems lead to concerns that gifts and traditional Christmas feasts are at risk.
More migrants are entering the country illegally via the English Channel than ever before.
And then there are the various scandals the Tories are caught in. "I would say last month was not a good month for the government," said influential conservative health
politician Jeremy Hunt
, once Johnson's rival for party leadership, BBC Radio 4.
Revelations about a lot of "sleaze" - that is, felt - have dominated the headlines for weeks. Several MPs are accused of corruption and nepotism. 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 - the confidence of his MPs was shaken.
The Peppa Pig speech and the nursing reform have now increased the anger of the influential backbenchers.
There are many concerns about the Prime Minister at the seat of government.
"It just doesn't work," said BBC reporter Kuenssberg's source.
The Ministry of Finance is suspected to be behind this, and its boss,
Rishi Sunak
, is said to have
crossed paths
with the prime minister.
The Times also targeted the prime minister.
Labor party leader
Keir Starmer
gave the appropriate speech at the economic summit, while Johnson ranted about the Peppa Pig Park, criticized the paper in its editorial.
There is only one thing that doesn’t matter: Boris Johnson.
"That was well received," the prime minister praised his speech afterwards.
wed / DPA