The picture shows British Prime Minister Johnson.
Due to the suspected violation of epidemic prevention regulations during the new crown epidemic, British Prime Minister Johnson has recently been pushed to the forefront of public opinion, resulting in a decline in the public opinion support of the ruling Conservative Party, and the opposition party and even the Conservative Party's demand for his resignation is increasingly loud.
According to British media reports, Gray, a senior British civil servant, is launching an internal investigation into the "Partygate" scandal, and the investigation report is expected to be released soon. For the beleaguered Johnson, the findings will be a decisive factor in his ability to remain in power.
Gray's report will reportedly be submitted to Johnson for review before it is released. On the 26th local time, Stammer, the leader of the largest opposition Labor Party, called on Johnson to keep his promise and publish the report in its entirety in the lower house of parliament, and he questioned whether Johnson could publish it in its entirety after receiving the report. Deputy Prime Minister Raab recently hinted that it would be up to Johnson to decide how many details would be announced, but he promised "full transparency."
On the same day, Stamer and others again urged Johnson to resign. Dozens of Conservative MPs also wrote to the party's 1922 Committee expressing distrust of Johnson. The "1922 Committee", which represents Conservative MPs without government positions, plays an important role in deciding on the candidate for prime minister. A challenge to a Conservative leader could be triggered if at least 54 of the 360 Conservative MPs wrote to the 1922 Committee, clearly expressing distrust of the Conservative leader.
Over the past two weeks, Johnson has repeatedly said in the face of pressure from the public, public opinion and opposition parties to resign that everything should wait until the investigation report is released.
A number of British media reported that London Police Chief Dick announced on the 25th that he would investigate whether the Prime Minister's Office and staff had violated the epidemic prevention and control regulations in the past two years. The police will publish information at "important nodes" as is customary. As a result, Johnson has the potential to become the first incumbent prime minister in the UK to be questioned by police as a suspect.
When questioned in the lower house of parliament in mid-this month, Johnson first admitted to attending a cocktail reception in the gardens of the Prime Minister's Palace during the "lockdown" in May 2020. Subsequently, the British media continued to expose that Johnson had participated in a number of illegal cocktail parties, and the "party door" gradually surfaced. From May 2020 to April 2021, Johnson was reported to have held more than a dozen illegal receptions at the Prime Minister's official residence, with no exceptions during London's "lockdown" and Prince Philip's funeral. At present, public opinion is generally not optimistic about Johnson's prospects, believing that his downfall is only a matter of time, and some media predict that Johnson is most likely to be forced to resign in two weeks.
The American Broadcasting Corporation analyzed Johnson's political career on the 25th. If the "Partygate" investigation report finds johnson to be at fault, then he will continue to serve as prime minister; if the report believes that Johnson deliberately lied to Parliament, he will resign for violating the code of conduct; if the report does not show that Johnson lied to Parliament, but the issues involved are very serious, then Johnson's reputation will be damaged, and Conservative MPs will no longer trust Johnson and will launch a vote of no confidence on the latter. But if Johnson can win the support of more than 50% of conservative MPs in a vote of no confidence, he will remain prime minister or he will be removed.
Author: Shen Qinhan
Editor: Liu Chang
Photo: Xinhua News Agency