The former prime minister intends to lead the Conservatives again for “national interest”, according to the newspaper ‘The Times’
Days before Liz Truss fell as prime minister, the British conservative press was already doing their pools to see who could succeed her. And among them one name stood out: Boris Johnson. It seems unthinkable that he who was prime minister until July and lost the support of his parliamentary group could return to the front line, like a phoenix. But, according to the newspaper ‘The Times’, Johnson plans to present himself to lead the party for “national interest”
The challenge is enormous, even for someone with the charisma of the eccentric former prime minister. Two years, in principle, from the legislative elections, the distance in the polls between Labor and Conservatives is close to 40 points. In addition, it remains to be seen whether Johnson, who is on vacation in the Caribbean, would agree to take the reins again and abandon a lucrative career as a lecturer around the world, his current occupation.
To this must be added that the conservative deputies turned their backs on him in July, when he was forced to resign. “A flock, when he moves, moves,” he said in his farewell to those who betrayed him just a few months ago. In that same speech he also opened the door for his return. And there is data to support it. A poll published this week revealed that 32% of the ‘tory’ militancy want Johnson to replace Truss, far ahead of any other candidate.
An eventual return of Johnson, in any case, throws lights and shadows. On the one hand, it is true that he led the Conservatives to a landslide electoral victory in 2019. He won the largest majority for the party since 1987, under Margaret Thatcher, and the largest number of votes since 1979.
Legacy
Brexit culminated -although it further tensed the confrontation with the European Union, especially as a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol-, his great electoral promise. Its management of the pandemic and the rapid purchase of vaccines allowed the United Kingdom to be one of the first countries to have its population immunized. And, once the war broke out in Ukraine, he was one of kyiv’s strongest supporters in Europe.
On the opposite side, the scandals that ended up knocking him down have been one of the main factors that have contributed to the current ‘tory’ discredit. Known as ‘Partygate’, Johnson’s sprees at 10 Downing Street with his collaborators while the rest of the country was confined, dealt a serious blow to the credibility and image of the British Government. We will have to see if there is a second part.
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