Johnson under pressure: climate, Covid, corruption

So far, criticism of British Prime Minister Johnson has always bounced off. But the list of his misconduct is getting too long, and even party friends and the conservative press in Great Britain are losing patience with him.

On Twitter, at the beginning of the world climate summit, a photo and the question of whether Boris Johnson intends to bring naturalist legend David Attenborough to the grave made the rounds. CNN’s Christiane Amanpour directly confronted the Prime Minister: “They did not wear a mask while sitting next to 95-year-old national icon David Attenborough.”

Johnson stuttered his way out of the affair, but only days later a photo was emblazoned on the front pages of Johnson – the only one without a mask – between nurses on a hospital visit in Northumberland. “No Shame” was the headline of the “Mirror”.

Disciplinary procedure in parliament

This also referred to the urgency debate raging in the London Parliament at the same time as the hospital appointment, in which Johnson was caught in the crossfire. But he was represented by Cabinet Secretary Steven Barclay, who instead had to apologize for the previous week’s misconduct. Opposition leader Keir Starmer accused Johnson of cowardly ducking away, that he was not a serious head of government and that his behavior was no longer funny – he had dragged his government through the cesspool.

In the urgency debate, the Conservatives had to go to the cross because they had tried the previous week to stop internal disciplinary proceedings against Tory MP Owen Paterson for grossly violating lobbying rules. Critical Conservative MPs are said to have been put under pressure by the parliamentary group chairman to vote with the government line.

But after a public outcry of indignation, also in the conservative media, about government interference and special rules for their own MPs, the Tories rowed back. The previous day’s vote was canceled. Affected MP Paterson resigned from office. And Environment Minister George Eustice tried to quickly dismiss the approaching storm as a storm in a glass of water.

Always new allegations

But even the former Conservative Prime Minister John Major attacked the Johnson administration and told the BBC that this was not an isolated incident. The conservatives have adopted a landlord style: the procedure was “shameful, wrong and unworthy”, it damages the reputation of parliament and must stop very soon.

On the contrary, more and more dirty stories are coming to light. “Sleaze” – corruption, dirt – is the term under which new allegations of lobbying, taking advantage or favoritism against the government are cited.

Seat in the House of Lords for grants?

The fact that Boris Johnson generally strains the truth, had Tory donors pay for the renovation of his apartment and recently went on vacation to Spain in the villa of a party friend whom he had previously heaved into the House of Lords is almost a thing of the past. Current research by the “Sunday Times” suggests that a seat in the House of Lords could actually be had in return for financial contributions.

According to this, 15 former treasurers of the Conservative Party donated three million pounds each to the Tories – and got a seat in the upper house at the instigation of the government. The question of the extent to which MPs are allowed to devote themselves to their part-time jobs is also hotly debated.

The aftermath of the “Sleaze” scandal

The Conservative MP Geoffrey Cox in particular has gotten into the crosshairs: the former prosecutor not only pocketed more than a million pounds for legal advisory activities last year, but also followed all online sessions of parliament from the Caribbean during the lockdown. So he was able to work for his client, the Virgin Islands, at the same time. The suspicion is that his English constituency in Devon did not get that much attention during this period. The Labor Party has requested an investigation.

In the meantime, opinion polls show that the “Sleaze” scandal harmed the conservatives. According to the latest surveys, they are still just ahead of the Labor opposition. But the Tories lost about three points on all polls, while Labor gained a point or two. The respondents cast a clear vote with regard to the additional income of politicians: two thirds reject such part-time jobs.

How the opposition can capitalize on the affair

Opinion researcher Prof. John Curtice explains that the government must now see to it quickly to get the subject out of the headlines, otherwise the stigma of the Johnson administration could persist for a long time. On the other hand, if Labor is to succeed in capitalizing on its distrust of Johnson in the long term, then the party would have to submit concrete proposals now, such as how lobbying and part-time jobs should be regulated in the future instead of just complaining.

“The prime minister is running away. As always, it’s only about self-preservation, not about the well-being of the country,” complained opposition leader Keir Starmer during the urgency debate on the Paterson case. And in fact, in Westminster these days, nothing less is at stake than the question of whether the Conservative government still has an adequate compass when it comes to principles of democracy and the rule of law.

Liberal Democrat leader Wendy Chamberlain said during the parliamentary debate that the government’s behavior was almost the kind of behavior it would expect in the Moscow Duma or the People’s Congress in Beijing, but not in the UK’s lower house.