Great Britain: Back chairs in Johnson’s cabinet

After repeated criticism of some of his ministers, the British Prime Minister Johnson has reorganized his cabinet. The demotion of the previous Foreign Minister Raab is hardly surprising.

The cabinet reshuffle had long been speculated in the British media. And that Dominic Raab was hit hardly surprised anyone. The man, who was foreign minister until a few hours ago, had to justify himself over the past few weeks on account of several allegations.

The most serious was that he was on vacation in Crete when the Taliban overran Afghanistan. A few days ago he defended himself in an interview: “In retrospect – of course I should have come back. But that is the luxury of commentators to bring this forward. I am Foreign Minister. I travel a lot. I always have to be able to Addressing crises. “

The government is criticized for not having flown out all the British and aid workers during the hasty evacuation from Afghanistan.

A soft case

However, Raab should continue to be a member of the cabinet. He becomes Minister of Justice. And apparently it was important to Johnson not to let the demotion be too violent, because at the same time Raab receives the title of Deputy Prime Minister. His successor is Liz Truss. The conservative politician was previously trade minister.

Patel remains in office despite criticism

Johnson also fired the ministers responsible for Justice, Housing and Education. Interior Minister Priti Patel, however, remains in office. She had been criticized again and again in the past few months for not being able to stop the influx of refugees into Great Britain. The number of refugees arriving in the UK via the English Channel is at record levels. Patel had last negotiated with France to prevent the transfer of the boats.

The politician also repeatedly attracts attention with populist proposals. In the fall of 2020, she had proposed installing wave machines to prevent refugees from coming to England by boat. There were also allegations of bullying against them.

Growing pressure on Johnson

Johnson is currently under heavy pressure. The cabinet reshuffle is supposed to be a liberation. Delivery bottlenecks in the country are increasingly becoming a problem. In Great Britain, more than 100,000 truck drivers are missing due to the corona pandemic and Brexit.

Furthermore, Johnson just announced that it would raise taxes because the NHS health service is in crisis. More than five million people are waiting for treatment in a hospital, there is a shortage of staff and poor pay. For the first time in months, Labor overtook the Tories in the polls after the tax hike.

During Question Time in Parliament today, Johnson had to defend himself again against attacks by the opposition. Labor has no strategy, Johnson accused opposition leader Keir Starmer. “Vote Labor, wait longer,” cried Johnson in a tumultuous debate in the House of Commons over the benches – alluding to the long waiting times for hospital treatments.