Prime Minister Boris Johnson, increasingly plagued by scandals, refused to resign despite calls from several of his top ministersthe British press reported on Wednesday.
(Read: The scandals that have Boris Johnson on the verge of political collapse)
Executive heavyweights met him after a spate of resignations in his government, but the Conservative prime minister declared himself determined to remain in office and to concentrate on “the issues of great importance facing the country”, several reported. media.
(He is interested in: Boris Johnson promises to continue ‘forward’ despite the resignation of his ministers)
The meeting with the ministers
The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was meeting this Wednesday afternoon with his ministers before deciding his next steps, after numerous members of his Government and the Conservative Party have asked him to leave after mass resignations among their ranks.
The BBC reported that there are two sides in Downing Street -his official residence and office-: that of the ministers who want him to continue as head of the Executive, including the head of Culture, Nadine Dorries, and another, more majority, which asks him let him resign
In this second group would be the head of the Interior, Priti Patel; the Minister for Wales, Simon Hart; Transport, Grant Shapps, and Nadhim Zahawi, whom the conservative leader appointed Economy Minister on Tuesday to replace the resigning Rishi Sunak.
Michelle Donelan, newly appointed head of Health after Sajid Javid’s departure also yesterday, and the person in charge of International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, would also appear.
Michael Gove, head of Territorial Cohesion, already asked Johnson hours before to leave office, as well as the Minister for Business, Kwasi Kwarteng, and the head of Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis.
The position of the Justice Minister and number two in the Government, Dominic Raab, and the Foreign Minister, Liz Truss, both close allies of Johnson and the latter presumably with aspirations to succeed him, is unknown.
The “tory” leader received the members of his cabinet one by one and also met the leader of the group of deputies without portfolio, Graham Brady, who has exposed the discomfort in his ranks, according to the newspaper “The Sun”.
Johnson contemplates two strategies that his allies propose: organize his departure or hold on to power until the last moment, even if more ministers resign.
Currently, they say, he is more in favor of “dying killing”, according to various sources.
His main argument for holding on to office is that he won “colossal” support from the electorate in the December 12, 2019 elections and that “what is responsible” is to continue fulfilling his program, as he told the House Liaison Committee today. the Commons.
If he does not resign on his own, it is possible that the 1922 Committee, chaired by Brady and which brings together the conservative parliamentary group, will change the rules to force a motion of internal censure -which if he loses, would force him to resign- once he holds elections to its board of directors early next week.
Johnson already passed one on June 6 -with 41% of deputies against- and the current rules prevent another from being called in twelve months.
The prime minister has declared in any case to the Liaison commission that he rules out calling early elections.
In the last 24 hours, two ministers from his Executive and 38 ministerial positions have resigned, and at least half of his parliamentary group has withdrawn their support, which means that Johnson would have difficulties filling the vacancies in the Government (which is nourished exclusively of deputies) and to pass legislation in Parliament.
Boris does not raise elections
Johnson also ruled out calling early elections on Wednesday despite the resignation in less than 24 hours of almost 30 members of his government in protest against the legitimacy of a leader sieged by scandals.
“I really don’t think anyone in this country wants politicians to be campaigning now. And I believe that we must continue to serve our voters and deal with the issues that concern them,” Johnson told a special committee made up of the chairs of the different parliamentary committees.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from EFE and AFP
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