“Party Gate” and Other Scandals: The End of the Johnson Method

Apologize a little tactically and then muddle through: Boris Johnson responded to the latest revelations with this scam. But that no longer works. Johnson’s resignation is a matter of time.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rarely been seen like this: he had eaten chalk when he asked for an apology during Parliament’s weekly Question Time. Johnson hates admitting mistakes; he usually relies on muddling through shirt-sleeved. In this respect, this apology is remarkable and it shows how serious the situation is for him and how great the resentment in his own party.

On the other hand, it was only a half-hearted apology. Johnson only admitted what was publicly known. And he has by no means admitted that by attending the beer-loving gathering in his evening sun-drenched garden on May 20, 2020, he had committed a violation of the then harsh corona lockdown. He only apologized for misjudging what he thought was a working meeting. He should have sent those gathered in the garden into the house.

At best, this half-hearted apology will give Johnson time until the report from government official Sue Gray, who was entrusted with the investigation of “Party-Gate”, is available. Twelve controversial celebrations around the seat of government in 2020 are now known.

Too many “gates”

And “party gate” isn’t Johnson’s only problem. For months the government has only been concerned with damage control. It is no longer possible to determine whether politics is still being made for the good of the country anywhere. “Wallpaper-Gate”, Johnson’s attempt to get paid for the renovation of his apartment, is not over yet.

And then there was “Sleaze-Gate”: his clumsy attempt to save fellow party member Owen Paterson from a lobbying penalty led instead to Paterson’s resignation, and shortly afterwards the seat of the Liberal Democrats was lost in the Shropshire by-election.

And at this point the Conservative Party ends: Johnson has only become Prime Minister by grace because he was able to win majorities with his jovial manner. Throughout his political career, he has succeeded in getting people to overlook his inadequacies and lies.

But the fact that the Prime Minister’s environment was celebrated for months while the population was not allowed to visit their dying relatives is triggering such an enormous wave of emotional outrage that Johnson will no longer be able to swim out of it.

In polls, 56 percent of those questioned demand Johnson’s resignation. It’s just a matter of time.