Boris Johnson said goodbye to the British Parliament on Wednesday after his last question session as prime minister, defending his trajectory and launching a “hasta la vista, baby!” between the applause of the conservatives and the boos of the opposition.
These past few years have been the greatest privilege of my life.
“Mission amply accomplished,” assured the Prime Minister, taking stock of his three years in office. And he stated that he will spend the next few weeks “doing what he believes citizens expect him to do: advance the issues for which we were elected in 2019.”
“These last few years have been the greatest privilege of my life,” added Johnson, 58, who announced his resignation on July 7 after losing the support of his Conservative Party in a context of multiple scandals that weighed on his popularity.
He concluded by saying: “Hasta la vista, baby!”, in Spanish, to the applause of his bench, repeating the famous phrase pronounced by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie “Terminator 2.”
🇬🇧 GOODBYE TO JOHNSON 🇬🇧
“GOODBYE, BABY”
This is how British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said goodbye in what was his last session in Parliament in London. pic.twitter.com/VVQndZ7RTP
— Alert News 24 (@AlertaNews24) July 20, 2022
Wise advices?
“I want to use the last few seconds to give some advice to my successor, whoever he is,” Johnson said in his last speech as Prime Minister in the Commons, which begins its summer recess on Thursday.
“Stay close to the Americans, defend the Ukrainians and freedom and democracy everywhere,” said the 58-year-old conservative, who was ousted from power by his party colleagues.
Johnson advised his replacement to “lower taxes and deregulate wherever possible” to make the UK an attractive place and “not always listen to the Chancellor of the Exchequer” (in his case, it was Sunak) when he wants to curb investments.
(We recommend: ‘The fall of a clown’: the analysis of ‘The Economist’ on Boris Johnson).
“Focus on the road ahead, but remember to look in the rearview mirror. And remember, above all, it’s not Twitter that counts. It’s the people who put us here,” he said.
With his half-farewell, Johnson hinted that he will somehow return to the public sphere, be it in politics, in his old position as a columnist for the “Tory” newspaper “The Daily Telegraph” or in some new and perhaps unexpected role.
(Be sure to read: ‘London Bridge’, the plan that will be activated when Queen Elizabeth dies).
Who will be the new prime minister?
Johnson’s successor will be announced on September 5, at the end of the parliamentary recess that begins on Friday.
Opposition Leader Labor Keir Starmer questioned him about the ongoing campaign within his party to replace him as leader and tenant of Downing Street, including the cancellation of a televised debate between the candidates on Tuesday.
(Keep reading: Why did Zelensky launch harsh criticism against President Jair Bolsonaro?).
“Well, I don’t follow the issue with special attention,” joked Johnson, to the laughter of the deputies.
But he took the opportunity to give “some advice” to whoever succeeds him as prime minister: “Stay close to the Americans, support the Ukrainians, fight for freedom and democracy everywhere; lower taxes and deregulate where you can to make this country the best place to live and invest”.
The conservative deputies vote for the fifth and last time on Wednesday to designate the two finalist candidates for his succession, among whom he will later choose the nearly 200,000 members of the British Conservative Party. There were three candidates left in the running: former finance minister Rishi Sunak, chief diplomat Liz Truss and foreign trade secretary Penny Mordaunt.
AFP and EFE
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