Boris Johnson resigns as Prime Minister. In the last 48 hours he had tried everything to stay in Downing Street, whatever he could, but in the end he was forced to give in to pressure from the Conservative party and the rain of defections quickly turned into a storm.
An inevitable step back that will come through an official announcement to the nation expected in the next few hours. But be careful because this is not a complete exit from the scene: Johnson is expected to remain in office until next fall, when the conservative party will choose its new leader and therefore the new prime minister (in the United Kingdom the number one of the majority party automatically becomes Premier). As the minutes passed though, according to the Guardian, many members of the Conservative Party have made it known that they also consider this option "inadmissible", considered too risky. Indeed, some would like the transition period to be carried out by Dominic Raab.
Three years after the resounding success achieved at the polls, Johnson was therefore forced to surrender after its enormous popularity was literally swept away by continuous scandals that gradually undermined its foundations, the last of which – the appointment of Chris Pincher a deputy chief whip despite the Prime Minister's knowledge of the allegations of sexual harassment against him – fatal result.
Johnson's Surrender
"The will of the party's parliamentarians is now clear Conservative that there should be a new party leader and therefore a new prime minister,” Johnson said.
The process for the designation, he explained, "starts now, the roadmap will be announced next week." Meanwhile "today I appointed the new government, which will remain in office until the new leader is appointed".
"In recent days - he revealed - I have tried to convince my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change government when we were offering so much, when we have such a vast mandate". He explained that he regretted "not having succeeded in those arguments". But"when the herd moves, it movesIn politics, "no one is remotely indispensable, our brilliant, Darwinian system will produce a new leader equally committed to leading the country through troubled times," Johnson said.
"From now until the arrival of the new premier, your interest will be served, the country will continue to move forward", he added, addressing the citizens directly. “Even if times may seem dark now – she concluded – our future together is bright and golden”.
The coup de grace
The coup de grace came this morning. The Premier hoped that the flow of resignations that began with the farewells of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Education Minister Sajid Javid had stopped last night. And instead from dawn the pace picked up at full speed. I'm over in two days 50 people have decided to leave the governmentbetween ministers, undersecretaries and other members of the Executive. The motivation? Always the same: after the Pincher scandal, Johnson was no longer considered "worthy" to lead the nation.
However, the surrender came after the sensational resignations of the two ministers that Johnson had appointed less than 48 hours ago: the new chancellor of the exchequer, Nadhim Zahawi, and Education Minister Michelle Donelan.
“Prime Minister, this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and above all for the whole country. He has to do the right thing and walk away now“, wrote Zahawi, also posting a photo of a letter with Treasury letterhead.
According to the English newspapers, the fact that the Prime Minister no longer found no one willing to be part of his Government, now devoid of any political and institutional credibility.
The struggle for succession
The struggle for the succession has already begun within the Conservative Party. According to the British media, there will be precisely those who will run for the position of leader of the Conservatives and therefore of future prime minister Zahawi, finance minister for 48 hours, and his predecessors Rishi sunak.
Among the candidates also the foreign minister, Liz Truss, and former loyalist Michael Gove, also among those who called for Johnson to leave Downing Street (but privately, in this case).
The pound soars
The reaction of the pound was immediate. The British currency soared to 1,199 against the dollar, before settling at around 1,197 while the euro fell to a low of 85,12 pence before recovering to 85,23 pence. Instead, the London Stock Exchange rose by 1%.
(Last update: 15.00 pm on Thursday 7 July).
