theconversation.com
Note: this is a machine translation from the original Russian text
The scandal erupted from where they were waiting. Another high-ranking employee of the Cabinet of Ministers of Great Britain got into trouble. Chris Pincher at a party in London's private "Carlton Club" hugged, let's say, not fraternally with two other men, and one of them is a member of parliament. And even in front of witnesses. The victims wrote to the party committee.
Unofficially, the position of the Pinscher is called "senior deputy for the whip," and officially he should monitor the discipline of deputies from the Conservative Party, but the discipline itself is lame. During the sprinkling of ashes on his head, Pincher said that he "drank too much," but this is not even an excuse for them.
Then two key ministers resigned – Rishi Sunak, the Finance Minister, and Majid Javid, the head of the Ministry of Health. Interestingly, Sunak, an Iraqi Kurd, came to Britain with his family without knowing a word of English. He succeeded at first in business, and then began his career in the camp of the Conservative Party. He became a member of parliament in 2010 and gained popularity among new compatriots during the pandemic, being one of those responsible for vaccination.
Then a series of resignations of more or less significant cabinet figures began. And the vice-president of the Conservative party, Bim Afolami, effectively announced his resignation on live television and called on Johnson to follow his example, since he "lost the trust of the party and the people."
But the essence of the series of resignations is not that the functionary who had gone over his hands, you never know ... but that Johnson, appointing him to the post at the time, knew about his non-standard behavior. At first, Downing Street generally refused, but after a former senior Foreign Ministry official recalled that Pinscher had been doing this for a long time, they said that we had "forgotten" about this detail when we were appointed. Therefore, in all resignation petitions, the main argument is the loss of confidence in the prime minister. "I'm sorry, but it's obvious to me that the situation cannot change under your management," Javid tweets. At the same time, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Internal Affairs declared their full support for Johnson. And a replacement has already been found for those who have resigned.
The British press has unleashed more than just all the dogs on Bowdzhou – the nickname of the prime minister. Selected the most creepy and evil. English irony is not easy to convey, but here, for example, the newspaper "Sun": "During the Judgment Day, which has already come, the prime minister was stabbed with a knife." Or the Guardian: "It's just all clear. Actually, one question is interesting – when and how will he resign?". "Boris can, of course, hold out for a few more hours if he so pleases," Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen says in an interview with Sky News, "but it's better to finish the job before the summer holidays and go on vacation already."
The YouGov Institute of Public Opinion immediately conducted a poll showing that 69 percent of Britons think Johnson should leave.
A series of scandals in the party of power on this very ground was thus supplemented by another episode. One unnamed parliamentarian was suspected of rape, was arrested, but released on bail in mid-May. Another watched porn on the phone a month earlier right in the House of Commons, the third, already former, received a year and a half for raping a 15-year-old teenager. After the last two cases, the head of the Conservatives, Oliver Dowden, resigned and partial parliamentary elections were held. Not to mention the famous scandalous Christmas party at the Prime Minister's residence, where during the pandemic the Prime minister dances with a certain partner. Moreover, this dancing looks quite comical, but Johnson is far from dancing to his predecessor Theresa May. However, this is not their job.
Rishi Sunak, the former finance minister, in his resignation letter noted, among other things, that: "There are serious fundamental differences with the Prime Minister" on economic issues, in particular, when preparing a speech on the economic state of the country, which is supposed to be made next week.
Britain has just been hit by a serious strike by transport workers, the largest in the last 30 years. It affected 40,000 employees – that's 80 percent of the staff. The union has received information that thousands of people will soon be out of work.
In 2021, prices in the UK increased by 9 percent – the sharpest jump in the last 40 years. And according to the forecasts of the Bank of England, by autumn they will grow by another 11 percent. The reason lies, of course, not in Johnson and not in his subordinates who are unable to control themselves, but in the rise in energy prices. Unlike France, where a significant part of the energy market is covered by nuclear power, Britain is seriously dependent on gas prices. But there is nothing to explain. But as for the actions of the government, there are claims against it. For several weeks it resisted the introduction of a tax on the excess profits of oil and gas giants, which were formed due to a jump in prices. In mid-May, they finally agreed, but this, according to the British press, was in order to distract attention from the discussion of the prime minister's Christmas fun during the pandemic.
In the near future, the strike movement in Britain will only expand. There are three sectors next in line: education, healthcare and mail. Lawyers will follow them. They do not agree on the extent to which the state is going to finance legal aid to the poor. That is, with what fees from the state they will receive for defending people in the courts who are unable to pay for a private lawyer.
But the most serious tests will come, as usual, from heaven. The airline sector was severely affected during the pandemic. A lot of employees have been dismissed, hundreds of flights have been canceled. Now the Irish charter carrier Ryanair is on strike all over Europe, and the British IziDget is preparing to join in July. Their services are used by the whole of Europe.
The British satirical magazine Private eye issued a weather forecast map on the cover: "Inflation and strikes are expected, a cyclone from Northern Ireland will bring high pressure associated with disagreements over post-Brexit. It will be very hot after the showdown of the Prime Minister's actions. So thunderstorms are very possible."