Accused of having participated in a party in the gardens of Downing Street in full confinement, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson must explain himself on Wednesday January 12 during a question-and-answer session in front of Parliament under extreme tension.
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For the head of government, the "
partygate
" makes this weekly meeting in the House of Commons, expected at 12:00 (local and GMT), one of the most difficult of his mandate. Faced with a series of revelations late last year about parties organized in power circles in defiance of health rules to fight the coronavirus in 2020, Boris Johnson finds himself cornered to say if he was present at an organized drink May 20, as many British media claim.
The revelation on Monday evening by the ITV channel of an email sent to around 100 people by the Prime Minister's Chief Secretary, Martin Reynolds, leaves no room for doubt as to the nature of the event held on May 20, 2020. “
Bring along your bottles
”, urged the invitation which called for“
enjoying the good weather
”during a drink“
with social distancing
”in the gardens of the Prime Minister's residence.
About thirty people had responded to the invitation, according to the press, including the head of government and his fiancée Carrie, who has since become his wife.
At that time, only two people were allowed to meet outside.
Anger is growing within the ranks of the Conservative Party, where according to the media some believe that the question is not whether Boris Johnson will have to leave power, but when.
Calls for resignation
"
Johnson loses Tories support
," the conservative
Daily Telegraph
headlined on Wednesday , highlighting in particular the call for resignation launched by party leader in Scotland, Douglas Ross, if it turns out that Boris Johnson has is breaking the rules and cheating on Parliament. The
Times
sums up the position of members of the government to call on Boris Johnson to say he is "
sorry
" or else he "
will condemn them all
". The popular
Daily Mail
wonders if "
the party is over for the Prime Minister
", stressing that the Conservative leader is going through the most serious crisis since taking office in July 2019.
On the left, the
Guardian
also relays the anger of Conservative MPs against their leader, who urge him to be transparent and to apologize. Asked before the revelation of the email, Boris Johnson was content with an embarrassed smile to refer to the current internal investigation which relates to several gatherings which would have been organized between May and December 2020. He has not spoken since.
Two years after his historic electoral victory, Boris Johnson has seen his popularity, long resistant to all crises, plummet in recent months.
In addition to the holidays, his reputation has been tarnished by suspicion of lying about the financing of the luxurious renovation of his official apartment, the awarding of contracts between friends during the pandemic or even accusations of favoritism towards generous donors of the Party. conservative.
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If he continues to refuse to leave, a vote of no confidence within the party would be enough to overthrow him.
Unlikely in the immediate future, this option is no longer taboo among the conservatives, used to not bothering leaders in turmoil and who could prefer the Minister of Finance Rishi Sunak or the head of diplomacy Liz. Truss.
