LONDON | Accused by a netizen of being a “compulsive liar”, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday defended his handling of the “partygate” scandal and assured that it would be “not responsible” for him to resign, despite the sling increasing in its majority.
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“Why believe you when you’ve been proven to be a compulsive liar?” This very direct question opened an interview with the popular site devoted to the education of children mumsnet.com, dominated by the affair of the holidays in Downing Street during the anti-Covid confinements.
The head of the Conservative government replied that he “disagrees with the conclusion” of the Internet user and assured that he was in power to “get results”.
“I can’t see how he would be responsible right now to abandon the project I’m leading, given everything that’s going on,” he pleaded.
“We have to learn (from what happened) and understand our mistakes, and move on,” he added.
Far from putting an end to the scandal that has plagued the Conservative government for six months, the publication last week of an administrative report detailing the extent of breaches of anti-Covid rules at Downing Street has prompted new calls for the resignation, announced in dribs and drabs.
It takes 54 letters from Tory MPs to the party’s ‘1922 committee’ to trigger a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson. About thirty have publicly called for his departure, but the procedure being secret, the political class is speculating as to whether the fateful number could be reached in the days to come, or even as soon as the parliamentarians return on Monday after the break in the celebrations of the 70 years of reign. of Elizabeth II.
If he is defeated by a motion of no confidence, an internal election will be held within the party to appoint a new leader. If he survives there, he cannot be dislodged for a year.
Boris Johnson, himself subject to a fine (unheard of for a prime minister in office), said he took “full responsibility for everything that happened” but felt he had to “continue” his work.
The scandal has already caused his popularity to plummet, leading to heavy setbacks for the Tories in local elections in early May. He maintained himself by highlighting in particular his leading role in the Western response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
