It was still pitch dark when Johnson left his official residence on Monday morning to go for a jog through St James’ Park with dog Dilyn. That time of day was well chosen. The beleaguered prime minister would do well to avoid spontaneous meetings with ordinary citizens, in broad daylight, for the time being, amid popular anger over the lockdown drinks at 10 Downing Street. He only met an observant press photographer, huffing and puffing.
The prime minister is determined to stay on even though a majority of voters want him to resign, including a significant proportion of Conservatives. Johnson is counting on the popular anger to subside well before the 2024 parliamentary elections. In addition, the Sunday newspapers have not made any new disclosures, potential deputies are seen as lightweights and there are hopes that researcher Sue Gray will not judge too harshly about ‘Partygate’. ‘.
Reason enough, Johnson judges, to fight back. For example, party chairman Oliver Dowden was sent to the television studios to allude to the end of all corona measures. Thanks to the favorable data, the Johnson administration is likely to abolish the corona pass, which is now needed to attend major events, before the end of this month and direct employees back to their offices. Self-isolation will be canceled and the mask obligation may be limited after ‘Freedom Day 2.0’.
Drinking culture
Dowden also announced his intention to end the drinking culture in and around Downing Street. Despite repeated plans to achieve Prohibition, Westminster has been living under the star of Bacchus for decades. At the end of last week, it was revealed that Johnson employees had been dragging suitcases full of wine bottles from the supermarket to 10 Downing Street, where a special refrigerator was waiting. From this point of view, Johnson has become a victim of the prevailing drinking culture.
The friends in the conservative press, like The Sun in The Daily MailJohnson also came to the rescue by attacking his opponent Keir Starmer. They printed a leaked photo showing the opposition leader, during a lockdown, drinking a beer with his employees in a regional office. According to the social democrat, there was talk of work, combined with some food and drink. “There was no question of a party,” he defended. The attention is striking, because the photo has been circulating on the internet for a long time.
Johnson can also count on his most loyal ministers. His biggest fan is Minister of Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries, who had to shed tears after the Brexit referendum when Johnson announced that he would not run for the premiership. Dorries announced on Sunday that he wanted to get rid of the License Fee, the viewing and listening fees with which the BBC is largely financed. It comes as no surprise that the Conservatives, who tend to see public broadcasting as a socialist weeping pipe, want to get rid of it.
strong language
But the timing seems to be a way to accommodate the grumbling grassroots. Within Conservative circles there is not only dissatisfaction with Partygate, but the question has also been raised whether Johnson is a Conservative at all. It is in any case no way to bring harmony. There has been an outcry at plans to subject the BBC, the world’s best-known broadcaster, to market discipline. So said Match of the Dayhost Gary Lineker that true patriots should be proud of the BBC.
Another loyalist within the cabinet, Interior Minister Priti Patel, has also been brought into position. On Monday she stated in the House of Commons that the navy is going to make serious efforts to push back migrant boats in the Channel. That kind of firm language also appeals to the Conservatives. In turn, Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak, more of a competitor than a Johnson mainstay, will soon announce how he will help families for whom it is becoming too expensive to turn on the heating.
All of these proposals are seen as spreading juicy meat around to avoid shredding Johnson, the bulldog, himself. Johnson’s determination also has to do with the suspicion that Partygate was hijacked by Remainers to take revenge for his leadership role in the Brexit campaign. However, experienced hands within the ruling party believe that this rescue operation is doomed to fail. According to them, the meaty main occupant of 10 Downing Street dead meat.
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