Studio DN with Katherine Marshall about Boris Johnson’s crisis

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Boris Johnson was questioned in Parliament on Wednesday. What was Westminster’s atmosphere like?

– It’s political drama in the upper class. To those of us who followed it through the video, it was seen in its entirety in the lower house, and it was dramatic in the British Parliament! But Boris Johnson is under intense pressure for the scandal, as illegal parties could take place at 10 Downing Street during the British closure. Boris Johnson had a little more energy than he had in yesterday’s interview, but we still do not know how many lawmakers in his party are calling for a no – confidence vote on him, so he is still relaxed. We do not know how it happens.

Boris Johnson’s unusual style is also an important part of his popularity. What’s the difference now?

– This is a good question. Boris was formerly known as the Teflon politician, in which everything flows from him, and that is one of the main reasons why he became party leader. He did so in a situation where the Conservative Party was so distrustful that they wanted an electoral magnet, someone else. Then Boris Johnson came in. But this does not seem to filter him out, and my personal analysis is that it attacks the very foundations of his political privilege. It is “I am not part of the elite, I am different”. He was in many ways the leader of the referendum on Brexit and for those who wanted Britain to leave the EU. The whole message was, “We are on the side of the people against the corrupt elite who want to chain Britain forever with Brussels.” It’s always been his thing. He pushed the strict restrictions in Britain, but at the same time did not follow them, and now that you know that the culture that follows them is not around him, he suddenly becomes part of the elite that thinks he is above. Rules. That is why I think it is difficult for him to get out of this particular scandal.

To what extent is the support of the common people declining among the elect, or among the electorate?

– I think it’s in both groups. He can be seen to have collapsed in public opinion and to have had the largest leadership of the opposition in eight years. At the same time, there is a direct relationship between the members of parliament in the British Parliament and the electorate in their constituencies, which, for example, is clearer than the Swedish system. Conservative MPs in the UK go to their constituencies every week, where they receive complaints from people wondering: How is this possible? How can we have a Prime Minister who forces the whole country under control and does not follow them? When members of parliament hear this, it is clear that Boris Johnson’s resignation should be considered twice.

The respect of the British and the contempt of their elite – and in the area of ​​how it is possible to remove a party leader in Britain.

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Studio DN

Can Boris Johnson escape at “Partygate”?

Editor: Sanna Doran Bijorling
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