Boris Johnson is one of those who believe, like a disciple of Machiavelli, that hypocrisy is the fundamental quality of a leader. And that in addition we are all guilty at a certain level, and innocent at another. Pure political relativism.
But the formula that got him to Downing Street, made a flawed Brexit a reality, and gave him an absolute majority in 2019 no longer works so well for him. A devastating 22-page report by the parliamentary committee investigating possible lies by him at Partygate has put him on the ropes, and the former prime minister is now fighting to salvage what he can of his career. policy.
True to himself (lies have to be repeated until they ring true), he claims that there is no definitive proof in the report that he purposely misled the House of Commons when he said he knew nothing of the parties that were organized during the confinement in his office (to say goodbye to colleagues), in his apartment (for his and his wife's birthdays) and in the garden at number 10 (for which on one occasion his wife sent an official to the corner grocery store with a suitcase to bring loaded with drinks). His explanations were very varied, from ignorance to the fact that they were "work meetings."
But a string of emails revealed in the report, including witness testimony, suggests that Johnson was well aware of the illegality of the parties, knew what was going on, and even jokingly commented that they were "the most antisocial gatherings in all of the world." the country” (at that time more than two people were not allowed to gather, and a minimum distance of two meters had to be maintained, under penalty of a fine).
If the committee (which is made up of four Conservatives and three Labour) decides that Johnson lied or misrepresented the truth before the Commons, it can sanction him with a fifteen-day suspension as an MP, which in turn would open the doors to a by-election. in his seat for the London neighborhood of Uxbridge, which he could lose given his precarious majority. It would be a complete humiliation, a punishment from the gods (and the voters) for his hypocrisy.
The former premier is in awe not just about the sword of Damocles hanging over his head, but about the way current Tory leader Rishi Sunak is dismantling his legacy, especially on the Brexit issue. The hostility towards Brussels that Johnson has always proposed as a negotiating method has been replaced by conciliation and the search for compromises, the agreements on Northern Ireland have been modified, and the bill to break them unilaterally, his creation, has been sent to the shredder.
In a visceral attack on Sunak, Johnson has called on Eurosceptics and Northern Irish unionists to reject the pact, while at the same time denouncing Downing Street's economic policy as misguided, strongly recommending a tax cut in the budget within a year. couple of weeks. But the hopes that he harbored of being prime minister again fade a little more with each passing day.
Labor leader Keir Starmer has appointed Sue Gray, the official who investigated Partygate, as his chief of staff. Johnson and his supporters (such as former ministers Nadine Dorries and William Rees-Mogg) denounce it as hypocrisy, the ultimate proof that it has all been a plot by the left and the establishment to get him out of the way. But it is Boris himself who thinks that hypocrisy is the fundamental quality of a leader...
