Prime Minister Boris Johnson had opted for his role as host of the COP26, organized in Glasgow, to improve his image. Through his speeches to the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, then October 31 at the G20 in Rome, he presented himself as the leader of a responsible and progressive movement determined to save the world.

It is clear that your plan is not working as expected. In addition to the uncertain outcome of the climate conference, several cases have parasitized his ambitions. In terms of foreign policy, relations between London and its European neighbors have rarely been this bad. Blame it on the inability of the UK and the European Union to find common ground on the Irish protocol, which manages their post-Brexit trade relations on the island of Ireland. These discussions were complicated by the current fight between London and Paris over fishing.

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Yet it is in terms of domestic politics that Boris Johnson has suffered the most since last week. It all started with an almost harmless affair. Conservative MP and former cabinet minister Owen Paterson was found guilty of a conflict of interest by the parliamentary committee responsible for reviewing the behavior of its members. He was to be sentenced to a thirty-day suspension. A penalty for the least light for an elected official paid more than € 10,000 per month by two companies to pressure the government in their favor and get meetings with ministers on their behalf.

Concern of elected conservatives

However, at the request of the Prime Minister, an amendment was tabled to denounce the functioning of the parliamentary commission involved and to demand the establishment of a parallel commission. More than defending Owen Paterson, Boris Johnson would have wanted above all to protect himself: The committee is currently investigating the use of funds from a Conservative party donor to pay for renovations to his official apartment.

In the debate that followed, Labor chairman of the offending parliamentary committee, Chris Bryant, did not mince words: “Retrospective legislation intended to favor or harm an individual for being friend or foe is immoral and contrary to the rule of law. “ The silence and embarrassed faces of the conservatives elected during his speech highlighted his discomfort. This did not prevent 248 of the 360 ​​of them from fulfilling the voting obligation imposed by the leadership of their party.

Media wrath

In the face of the media fury that followed and the resumption in the heart of the expression “Sordidness” (immoral, corrupt), Boris Johnson understood the extent of his error in judgment. In the morning, his party announced the withdrawal of its decision to create a new parliamentary inquiry commission. This politically intelligent U-turn did not calm the ire of the media. Not that of the conservative deputies. For the fourth time in less than two years, they were forced to vote in favor of a government measure that the prime minister rejected to public fury.

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Their discontent was even greater when Boris Johnson refused to participate in the parliamentary debate on the issue on Monday, November 8. “Politics is a team effortsaid Rep. Mark Harper. If the captain puts his team in trouble by making a bad decision, he should apologize to the Commons. “ A politically risky decision by a political leader who has never had the unwavering support of his peers. Especially since its establishment of an economic policy focused on investment in infrastructure and tax increases, just in line with the historic line of the conservative party.